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A SERIES 

OF LECTURES 
N OLD TESTAMENT 

MIRACLES. 



BY 



MEV. HENRY HERVEY, A, M, 




/ 

SPRINGFIELD, OHIO : 



» BHTTEB AT THE OFEICE OP THE PRESBYTERIAH OF THE WEST. 

1844. 






Entered according to act of Congress, in the year of our Lord 
©ne thousand eight hundred and forty-four, by Rev. Henry Hervey, 
A. M., in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Ohio, 






PREFACE. 

The following Lectures are presented to the public, as they were 
delivered by the author, to the people of his pastoral charge; except 
some extemporary illustrations of principles, which are briefly stated 
at their close. He would, probably, not have thought of presenting 
them in this form, had it not been for the suggestion, and advice of 
some of his ministerial brethren, on whose judgment he had reason 
to rely. One reason which has had influence in leading to this con- 
clusion is, that the author is not aware that any similar course of 
lectures on miracles has been published, and, therefore, that they 
might contribute their humble influence to direct the -mind of the 
reader to certain portions of Scripture, and tracts of thought, which 
are less familiarized to the common mind. Another reason is, that 
unless their character has been mistaken, they embrace a considera- 
ble amount of thought for the space which they occupy. And 
though the taste of the age may, even to a fault, demand light read- 
ing, and the ornaments of language, rather than sentiment ; there 
are still many, who wish food for the mind, to induce them to under- 
take the labor of reading. A third reason is, that it is apprehended 
that an unusual amount of practical infidelity prevails, in reference 
to the recognition of God's providential control over the affairs of 
the nation, and in reference to the Bible, as an elementary book of 
instruction, to form the principles of the youth of the community ; 
so that for political, as well as religious reasons, the friend of his 
country should lend his influence to form a more enlightened and 
vigorous national conscience. 

The plan of these lectures, leading necessarily through the entire 
history of the Jewish commonwealth, from its organization to its 
overthrow, has afforded frequent occasion to impress the truth, that 
God is the law-giver, as well as judge of nations; and that national 
prosperity is to he expected only by a general conformity to his 



iv PREFACE. 

will, and that without this, the best constitutional or legal provisions 
will not perpetuate our happiness. 

Miracles too, being one of the most important and fundamental 
evidences of a revelation from God, the contemplation of these 
manifestations of supernatural agency in proof of the mission of 
his servants, and the heavenly origin of his truth, may be of advan- 
tage also to the christian, in establishing him more intelligently 
and firmly in the certainty of his faith in a revelation, to which he 
owes all his hopes of acceptance with God here, and of a happy 
immortality hereafter. 

The incidents of real life, and the biographical sketches which 
are every where connected with miraculous events, and which form 
prominent topics of consideration in these lectures, it is hoped may 
be of service, not only as interesting the attention, but of improv- 
ing the heart, and of comforting the christian, — as well as stimula- 
ting him to set for himself, and aspire to a high standard of christian 
excellence. 

It is, doubtless, not without an important design, that the wisdom 
of God has given so much of the Scriptures in historical narrative, 
and so little in polemic discussion and didactic teaching. As it is, 
we are made to see more impressively the truth, and the error in the 
life, than we could in the abstract. This method, which divine 
reaching has suggested, should be followed more than it generally is, 
by those whose office it is to teach religion to their fellow men. In 
these lectures there is some effort made at this; how far it is success- 
ful, the reader will be the more competent to decide. 

A fourth reason for giving these discourses to the public is, that 
the pastor may afford to his congregation a memorial in this perma- 
nent form, which may give them and their children counsel, whes 
jais living voice shall be silenced in death, 

Martissbxjrg, April 23, 1844 



LECTURES ON 
OLD TESTAMENT MIRACLES. 



LECTURE I. 



CREATION. 



u In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." 

Gkw. 1: 1. 

The belief in the existence of a God, is fundamental, 
alike both to natural and revealed religion. It is a 
first principle of all correct reasoning in theology, 
as well as a necessary element in all consciousness 
of moral duty. It is a necessary axiom also, in all 
philosophical reasonings. Without the admission of 
this idea, as a first principle, every process of reas- 
oning will labor under the deficiency of a starting 
point. The recognition of a God, is one of the 
peculiar distinctions between man and the inferior 
animals; gives him moral elevation, and stamps his 
nature with dignity. The Scriptures do not under* 
take to prove this truth. Revelation refers to it as 
a truth already known. It seems to proceed upon 
the supposition, that mankind are already familiar 
with this idea, as if we had been previously suffi- 
ciently schooled in this first lesson of all science, 
and proceeds to instruct us in other lessons, for the 
understanding of which, its help was needed. It 
seems to presume, that we are able to learn this 



b CREATION. 

first element of theological knowledge without a 
preceptor, and offers us assistance in the discovery 
of other truths, for the understanding of which it 
regards us as incompetent. In making the first 
announcement of the divine will to man, no argu- 
ment is attempted, to prove the existence of Him 
who speaks, and requires obedience. But this 
seems to be taken for granted, as an already re- 
ceived and well known truth. The first notice we 
have of a God breaking the silence of eternal ages, 
and unfolding his attributes to a world of gazing 
intelligences, is not in the utterance of an argu- 
ment, with premises and conclusions, demonstrating 
the divine existence, and demanding our assent; 
but he is first introduced to our attention as acting; 
and by the magnificent display of power and intelli- 
gence, we are led to the knowledge of the being who 
acts. "In the beginning God created the heaven 
and the earth." The announcement does not give 
us time to speculate respecting the omnipotent ener- 
gy in a state of quiessence, in an unfathomable 
eternity, and to attempt the hopeless task of deci- 
phering his inscrutable attributes on the dark field 
of unmeasured duration, before he exhibits himself 
on the theatre as an acting Deity. The first notice 
inspiration gives us of God, is of a God in action , 
and from the action leaves us to infer the properties 
of the actor. 

It was not the object of revealed religion, to prove 
the existence of a God. It goes every where upon 
the presumption, that this truth is admitted, and pro- 
ceeds to explain, and enforce the duties growing out 
of it. Revelation meant to prove, that God had 
spoken to the world, but the world itself is designed 
to prove that God existed. The miracles of the 



CREATION. / 

New Testament were designed to prove, that Jesus 
Christ was the Savior, and that he delivered the 
divine will to a world fallen, and completed it by 
apostles, to whom heaven's high seal of miracles 
was committed, as the infallible credentials of their 
mission. The miracle of creation was designed 
to prove to the world the existence of a God, 
the Creator. The miracles of the New Testament 
proved the divinity of the Savior's character, and 
the relation mankind hold to him as Redeemer; 
the miracle of creation proves the divinity of Jeho- 
vah, and the relation mankind hold to him as God. 
The miracles of the New Testament were an 
exhibition of the attributes of God to a world of 
sinners; the miracle of creation was an exhibition 
of the attributes of God to a world unfallen. As 
by the miracles of the New Testament we are led 
to rely with unlimited confidence on the character 
of Christ, as our Savior, and that he hath spoken to 
us the words of infinite wisdom ; by the miracle of 
creation we are led to believe with an unwavering 
faith in the being of a God, and from the wisdom 
displayed in the miraculous workmanship of crea- 
tion, to judge of the wisdom displayed in the mirac- 
ulous work of redemption. From the issues of the 
workmanship from the omnipotent hand, we are 
better prepared to judge of the communications 
from the omniscient mind. Whatever we know 
then of God, as Creator, or Redeemer, is mainly 
communicated and authenticated to us through 
the medium of miraculous power. God has in this 
way employed his omnipotence, to make certain to 
us, not only his existence, but his mercy. 

The miracles of Christ prove against the Infidel, 
that the Bible is the word of God; the miracle of 



O CREATION. 

creation proves against the Atheist, that there is a 
God. The one proves that the world of matter 
and mind did not come by chance, nor was the 
work of an anonymous author; the others prove 
that Revelation is not the production of a fictitious 
authorship. The one leads us in the sure pathway 
of investigation to the knowledge of a God ; the 
other in the sure pathway to heaven. The one is 
the foundation of the knowledge of natural reli- 
gion; the other of revealed religion. Upon these 
two sources of testimony the two pillars of theism, 
and Christianity rise with majestic strength and 
beauty, to sustain the superstructure of morality 
and religion, — of man's faith and hope, for time, and 
for immortality. Upon the one source of proof of a 
God — the miracle of creation — the obscurer faith 
of the heathen world rests ; but the clearer faith of 
the christian world reposes upon both. So long as 
reason uses these two hand-maids for their proper 
purposes, and relies upon them with implicit faith* 
she moves onw T ard in a clear sky, alike undisturbed 
by the gloomy atmosphere of Atheism, or the whirl- 
pools of Deism, toward the region of perfect light. 
We said it was not the object of Revelation to 
prove a God, yet a God must be known, before we 
can recognize a revelation from him. His existence 
must be known, before a communication from hirn 
can be identified. The being must be believed to 
exist, before he can be obeyed — his existence known,, 
before his authority can be acknowledged. How, 
then, is this all important, first truth ascertained? 
this first principle to every subsequent truth settled ? 
It has been regarded by some, as intuitive, or rather 
aa innate idea of the mind, acquired without infor- 
mation or reasoning. This > however, would be not 



CREATION. V 

only without, but against evidence. There are no 
innate ideas, all our knowledge is acquired. We are 
furnished by nature with a capacity to acquire ideas. 
but not with the ideas themselves. Some have sup- 
posed it might be acquired from assuming the neces- 
sary existence of the first cause; but why should we 
ever think of a cause, if there w r as no visible effect 
to lead us to inquire for its cause ? Such an idea 
would itself be an effect without a cause. Reach- 
ing at once to the cause, without first having trav- 
eled to it through the effect, is contrary to all the 
operations of mind. The only remaining method 
then is, to acquire the idea of the cause from the ef- 
fect. A cause may manifest its existence by phys- 
ical energy, or by mental operation, or from both, 
In these two ways only can we know the existence- 
of a God : By his works, and by his word, And 
we must learn him first by his w r orks, before we can 
learn him by his word. An absent and unknown 
person must, in some way, by a work, prove his 
existence to us, before we can authenticate a com- 
munication from him. Thus God made the world, 
proving to man his existence, before he made to 
him a communication of his will. Christ recogni- 
zed this principle when he said of his miracles, "the 
works that I do they testify of me. Believe me not 
for the word which I spake unto you, but believe 
me for the work's sake." God first made the world, 
before he made the intelligent observer of it; that 
the things seen might declare his eternal power and 
godhead; that being satisfied of his existence, he 
might be prepared to receive a communication from 
him. Man, at first, was not left to one or the other 
of these proofs. He first had the proof from the 
works — he opened his eyes upon a beautiful and 



iO CREATION. 

finished world; and the Lord also spake to him in 
the garden, and gave him the law of his moral 
being. God having made himself known, in these 
ways, to the parents of the race, it is fair to con- 
clude, that all their posterity have been benefited 
by the knowledge they acquired — that in these 
two ways God is still manifesting himself to the 
entire race of men. By his works he is still acces- 
sible to the entire population of the earth. "Day 
unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night 
sheweth knowledge (of him.) There is no speech 
nor language where their voice is not heard." And 
tradition of the primeval knowledge has, doubtless, 
followed the nations in all their migrations; and 
where there is more than tradition, there is a full 
revelation. Thus the knowledge of God is access- 
ble by the race, by the exercise of the common and 
every day principle of reasoning from the effect to 
the cause. By inferring from the work, there must 
have been a worker; and from the fact that there 
is a word, there must have been a speaker. 

The evidence then, for the existence of a God, 
is reducible to the simplest method of experimental 
proof. We see an effect, and by a necessary law 
of the operation of our minds, we refer it to a 
cause. We see adaptation in the effect, to a cer- 
tain end, we unavoidably infer there was design in 
the cause, and therefore it did not happen without 
an intelligent agent. We observe the workmanship 
throughout, in its most magnificent displays, and its 
most minute manifestations, and it every where 
holds out to our admiration, the most perfect fitness 
of means to an end; we are therefore led unavoid- 
ably to the conclusion, that it must have been the 
offspring of design. The designer, the Scripture 



CREATION. 



11 



calls God. By the same process of mind by which 
we infer, that any piece of complex mechanism 
which we examine, and which we have not seen 
the workman making, to be the product of some 
intelligent mind, do we infer, that the world of 
matter and mind is the product of an intelligent 
cause. It is not necessary that we see the work in 
the progress of accomplishment, in either case, 
rationally and fully to come to this conclusion. It 
is sufficient that we see the work done, and dis- 
cover the evidence of design, to lead us to this 
conclusion. And such is the law of our mental 
operation, that we cannot come to any other con- 
clusion. Neither would it weaken the force of 
this reasoning, if a part of the race could be found, 
who had never inferred the existence of a God 
from his works, provided, when the evidence was 
pointed out to them, they must assent to it. Still 
the Atheist may ask, why may we not as well sup- 
pose the processes of matter to be eternal, as to 
suppose an eternal mind. We answer simply for 
the reason, that there is abundant proof, apart from 
the Bible, that the present economy, and races must 
have had a beginning, and there is no proof that the 
mind that originated them had a beginning. Again : 
The Geologist, it is said, brings proof positive of 
an anterior origin of our earth, long prior to 
this account by Moses. We answer, it makes no 
difference, provided he gives it an origin at all. 



REMARKS. 

What a majestic aspect does the opening 
sentence of the Bible give us of a God. What 
may you not hope for, if he be your friend? If 
your enemy, what may you not fear? 



LECTURE II. 

THE DELUGE. 

"And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all 
the high hiils, that were under the whole heaven, were covered* 
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains 
were covered." — Gen. 7: 19,20. 

As the miracle of Creation teaches the world the 
being and attributes of God, so the Deluge teaches 
the doctrine of his Providence. The ushering into 
being a world, with all its order and adaptation, 
proves the previous existence of the cause which 
originated it; the upholding it in being, and pre- 
serving the order and harmony of its laws, or 
suspending, or counteracting them, proves the con- 
tinued existence and superintendence of the power 
which first gave it being. 

Not only was some magnificent display of power 
and wisdom necessary to impress the world of men 
with the belief of a God, but also striking interrup- 
tions of the established order of the Universe, are 
sometimes necessary to convince mankind that God 
is the governor of the world. Man in his depravity, 
likes not to retain the knowledge of God. And 
when he is known, they change the incorruptable 
God into an image. The existence of a particular, 
controlling Providence, is not so universal and 
abiding, as the admission of the divine existence. 
There is a principle adopted, professedly in honor 
of God, that he created the world, and impressed 
upon it the certain laws of its being, and then reti- 



DELUGE. 



13 



ring from his care of it, left it to the operations 
of those laws. Such reasoners pretend, that it 
derogates from the elevated character of the Su~ 
preme, to suppose him to be concerned with the 
minute occurrences of things. Judging of the 
infinite mind by their own, they imagine that it 
would too much occupy and distract the divine 
attention, to superintend all the occurrences in the 
immensity of his dominions. They seem to sup- 
pose, that Jehovah having once broken the silence 
of eternity, and called into exercise his eternally 
quiescent attributes, in the production of nature, 
and fixing her laws, that the godhead again retired 
to that quietude and inaction, in which they seem 
to suppose his dignity and happiness consist; and 
that the world of men and things having com- 
menced their career, by the putting forth of the 
omnipotent energy, have been left to run their 
race, without the guiding or disturbing influence of 
that power which originated their motions ; and in 
the exercise of this spirit inquire, "how doth God 
know?" and ask, "where is the promise of his com- 
ing? for all things continue as they were from the 
foundation of the world." 

Thus it is, with man as he is, that the very 
stability and uniformity of nature, which are essen- 
tial to the world being what it was, intended as the 
habitation of sentient and happy beings, and which 
so clearly prove the wisdom and goodness of the 
creator, as well as his incessant care of his crea- 
tion, by man's perversity, have become the occa- 
sion of excluding from his regards, the being in 
whom he lives, and moves, and has his being. 
Strange, that the very constancy of God's atten- 
tion, should become the argument to prove that 



14 



DELUGE. 



he paid no attention. That God should, by the very 
means which he employs to keep an abiding sense 
of his superintendence, should so far have failed, 
as by these very means, to have furnished man- 
kind with an argument to disprove his care alto- 
gether. That the very surplusage of his goodness, 
in attending to the minutest affairs of his govern- 
ment should so far fail of leading the receivers of it 
to adore its exercise, as to lead them to disbelieve 
in its exercise altogether. But, it is the history of 
depravity, to despise the goodness and long suffer- 
ing of God, not knowing that his goodness leadeth 
to repentance. To convince the world that the 
stream of good does not flow without a fountain, 
that the laws of nature, which man deifies, in the 
place of him who made and upholds them, are not 
omnipotent and unchangeable, it becomes neces- 
sary, sometimes, for him, Avhom human blindness 
cannot see, but looks only at the laws or means by 
which he sees proper to work, to break this unifor- 
mitv, to rend the vail which conceals him from the 
sight, and to stop the fountain, which by flowing 
so long, has lead to the belief that it flows by 
necessity. And God to make himself known again 
to the world by the wonders w r hich he executes, 
and, like as it was at first necessary to launch into 
immensity a world of organized existence, to unfold 
His existence, so it becomes necessary, sometimes, 
to break the order of nature, and launch out of 
existence the beings that have been made, to 
bring to view, and impress the idea of certain 
attributes, which the depravity of mankind have 
obscured. 

For the manifestation of the righteousness of 
God's character, and the proof of his retributive 



DELUGE, 15 

providence, such a display of divine interposition 
was made in the government of God, in the seven- 
teenth century of this world's history. God, who 
created the world, and had hitherto upheld in 
uniform operation the laws which he had given it, 
then, for sufficient reasons, saw proper to suspend 
the regular order of things, to deface that beautiful 
world which he had made, and to depopulate it of its 
living inhabitants. The cause leading to this dread- 
ful catastrophe, was the wickedness of man. Sin, 
introduced into this fair creation by the first of the 
race, had vegetated and matured, and now loudly 
called for the harvest of the earth to be gathered. 
Sixteen centuries of an alienated world had been 
sufficient almost to efface the knowledge of him who, 
in creation, had given such proof of his attributes, 
and rendered a second miraculous interposition 
necessary to convince the world, that the Creator 
was the Governor, and the Judge; and that he 
who had given such ample evidence of his wisdom, 
and goodness, in the construction of the world, 
was not indifferent to the manner in which it was 
used, or to the respect due to his own character, 
and the moral laws which he had given for the 
government of man. As an exercise of merited 
justice, therefore, towards a wicked race, as well as 
to be a monument to every succeeding generation 
that God was the Judge, and that man could not sin 
with impunity, God predicted, and executed upon 
this world, the most dire catastrophe that has been*, 
or will be experienced, till it shall have completed 
its present economy, and be dissolved by a deluge 
of fire. 

The same class of men, however, that are slow 
to believe the doctrine of God's providential gov- 






16 DELUGE, 

ernment, are also disposed to dispute the reality of 
this historical fact, and attribute the story to the 
uncertain sources of a fabulous origin. No fact, 
however, in the history of the world is so well 
^ attested, both by natural and civil history. It has 

been asserted that it is contrary to philosophy, 
and that the deluge could not be universal, because 
there was not a sufficient quantity of water to 
overflow the earth to the degree represented by 
Moses, The fact, however, is confirmed by natu- 
ral history. Fossil remains of animals, of a former 
world, are found in every quarter of the globe. 
All the mountains of every region under heaven, 
where search has been made, conspire in one 
universal proof,*' that the sea was spread over 
their summits. Shells, skeletons of fish, and marine 
animals of every kind, are found in them. The 
remains of the native animals of Africa, have been 
dug up on the highlands of Siberia, and Tartary. / 

The truth of this narrative is confirmed by the 
tradition of it, which has prevailed universally. If 
such an event had never occurred, it would be 
impossible to account for the tradition of it, which 
is every where to be found, in the records of 
all pagan nations, as well as those who had the 
Scriptures, 

It is a sufficient answer to the objection, on the 
ground of an insufficient quantity of w r atef, that 
no one has ever meted out in the hallow T of his 
hand, or fathomed the depths of waters in the 
bosom of the earth, or brought into his scales the 
stores of the firmament, and ascertained whether 
if these store-houses had united in pouring out 
their treasures upon the surface of the earth, and 
by a miraculous counteraction of the law of grav- 






DELUGE. 



17 



hation, made to stand there as an heap, there 
would not have been enough to have accomplished 
the purpose Moses assigns to it In this, as in 
other matters, it is not enough to discredit a his- 
torical fact, and to bring an objection against it, 
from your ignorance; you must bring it from your 
knowledge. To set it aside, you must not only be 
able to say, I do not know how it can be, but you 
must be able to say, I know it cannot be. To dis- 
prove a miraculous fact, it is not to the purpose to 
shew, that it could not be produced by the operation 
of the known laws of nature ; it must be shown that 
Omnipotence has not, nor could not produce it. But 
it is objected against, as contrary to matter of fact, 
on the ground that the Ark could not contain all 
the animals found on the earth, together with 
the provision necessary to sustain them. In refer- 
ence to this it has been proved, by actual computa- 
tion, that the Ark had the capacity of eighteen 
ships of war, the largest in present use, and might 
carry twenty thousand men with provision for six 
months, and military stores. There were eight 
human persons to be preserved in it, and about two 
hundred and fifty pairs of four-footed beasts, with 
the fowls, and such reptiles as could not live in the 
water. Can any one doubt, then, of its capacity 
to hold them? The credibility of the fact then is 
fcot to be questioned. 

But how terrible to the population then Jiving, 
v/as the event ! ! 

It is generally supposed by those who have 
made such matters a subject of much study, that 
the population of the earth was then as great or 
greater than now. The data for this conclusion are 
the age of the world, and the length of human life 

2 









18 



DELUGE. 



To give it vivacity, place yourself in the opening 
of such a devastation of a world. See the heavens 
irowning with unwonted fury; the earth opening and 
spouting upward columns of water, meeting those 
falling from above, and rolling back in desolating 
torrents; witness the gathering dismay in every 
countenance; hear the universal shriek of despair; 
and see the world's last hope of life expire — men, 
women, and children, buried in one common sepul- 
chre of water. And say, must not nature sink 
under the view. Look at a defaced and ruptured 
world, vegetation, with human and animal creation, 
swept from its face. Where now is that beautiful 
creation which God himself pronounced " very 
good;" to which angels said, amen, shouting for 
joy, and man assented? What has excited all this 
anger in heaven, that it should thus repent the 
Creator of his workmanship,, and lead him to de- 
stroy its beauty, and w^aste its life? The reason is 
given, and doubtless it must be sufficient, even for 
such an unaccountable event. The wickedness of 
man w^as great upon the earth. It was sin, that 
prolific evil, which first desolated Paradise, and 
then the world; w r hich first drove the race out of 
the garden, and then into the deep. O sin! what 
hast thou done? Would that these were the end 
of sorrows. But having destroyed one world 
twice, and holding it in reserve for a third and 
final conflagration, wilt thou proceed to satisfy thy 
revenge on what remains of it — man in a future 
and second existence? If thy claims cannot be 
satisfied with water, may they not be with blood? 
This is the only hope against a second deluge— the 
rainbow of the covenant. 



DELUGE. 19 

REMARKS. 

A great cause leading to this catastrophe, was 
the apostasy of the Church. 2. This destruction 
was inot brought upon the world without notice, 
and timely warning given for repentance. 3. Their 
destruction was of themselves: they might have 
prepared an ark. Some, had they been like minded, 
might have entered with Noah. They were not 
shut out, until after he was shut in. But they 
looked, upon the preparation as folly, until the 
flood came. So it is with sinners still. " My spirit 
shall not always strive," is as emphatical now as 
then. But, the righteous need not fear the wreck 
of nature. Though there is but one righteous man 
in the population of earth, he rides safely on the 
top of the flood. He is saved by faith f so must 
you. • 



LECTURE IIL 



DESTRUCTION OF SODOM 



"Then the Lord rained upon Sodom, and upon Gomorrah,, 
brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven ; And he over- 
threw those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the 
cities, and that which grew upon the ground." — Gen. 19: 24, 25. 

There are two classes of mankind in error in 
reference to miraculous interposition. One class, 
who have such firm confidence in the established 
order of nature, as to be unwilling, on any testi- 
mony, to believe that it is ever interrupted. The 
other, that the order of things is liable to perpetual 
changes, on trivial occasions, and for insufficient 
reasons. The one class are so tenacious of uphold- 
ing the uniformity of nature's operations, that they 
not only deny that miraculous changes have 
taken place since the laws of nature were put in 
motion at first, but pretend that the processes of 
nature are so unchangeable that they have not 
even had a beginning; but have been going on in 
an eternal progress of succession. By such minds, 
whatever Omnipotence there is, is ascribed to the 
laws of nature. Ever since they commenced (if 
they commenced at all) they hold on in their 
career, independent of any supreme agency, and 
prosecute their course with undeviating uniform- 
ity. But, if any deviation has taken place, it is at 
least incapable of being proved by testimony, and 
therefore, as a matter of knowledge, is to us the 
same as if it did not take place. But the other class, 
on the contrary, seem to regard the established 



DESTRUCTION OF SODOM* 21 

order of nature as held by so slight a tenure, as 
to be broken by the lightest touch. And every 
event in their own circumstances, which occurs a 
little out of the ordinary course of things, they are 
disposed to attribute to some extraordinary cause 
in the concealed movements of nature, to the 
direct interposition of God, or, to the agency of 
some supernatural being, good or bad. To minds 
of this over-credulous cast, and imaginations of 
this fanciful description, creation seems to be peo- 
pled with intermediate agents, who are constantly 
intermedling with the established order of things, 
and disappointing with disasters, the best laid 
schemes. In such minds, the falling meteor, the 
blazing comet, or even the croaking of the night- 
hawk, or the ticking of the death-watch in the 
wall, are sufficient to awaken the most fearful 
apprehensions of a coming evil. To such persons, 
the fabric of nature appears to be hung together 
so loosely, that it may be unhinged by the slightest 
causes; and the appearance of some of the less 
frequent, but certainly established phenomena of 
nature, are regarded as portentous of some fatal 
derangement in the necessary order of things. 
The opposite extremes to w r hich the different 
minds of men reach on this subject, is one instance 
illustrating the common tendency of the human 
mind on all subjects. True wisdom seldom leaves 
the marks of her footsteps on the extreme limits of 
things; but her pathway is truly described, as lead- 
ing in the "midst of the paths of judgment." The 
old maxim, "Medium est optimum," is as true in 
English as in Latin : and is as true now, as it was in 
olden time ; and is as true of other things, as of the 
things of religion ; and which the ultraism of the 



22 DESTRUCTION OF SODOM. 

present age makes necessary should be republished, 
"with more than the authority of Solomon. Wan- 
dering on either side of the straight line of truth 
may be equally fatal. Fixing in the mind the 
immovable belief, that the laws of nature cannot 
be suspended; indulging an excessive incredulity 
in regard to the historical testimony bearing wit- 
ness to the fact, that the elements have been com- 
pelled to perform offices contrary to their natural 
tendencies, have led to all the gross results of Infi- 
delity and Atheism. An error on the one side 
here, has brought withering into all the interests of 
human society in this world, and blasted all the 
prospects of mankind for the future. The indul- 
gence of a too credulous spirit on the other hand, 
and being disposed to believe that the laws of nature 
may be set aside on any occasion, and for trivial 
causes, has been the fruitful mother of superstition ? 
and has filled the Pagan world with unnecessary 
fears, unnecessary rites and ceremonies, and laid 
the foundation for false hopes for eternity, and 
weakened, or obliterated, correct views of the gov- 
ernment of God. Even here, where the best oppor- 
tunities are afforded for a proper faith and consistent^ 
practice the one or the other of these sources of 
mischief, is constantly doing its work. The want 
of a becoming faith in the evidence of recorded 
facts which establish the truth of a Revelation from 
God, and the consequent practical Infidelity which 
marks the character of such multitudes under the 
Gospel; or on the other hand, leads to the supersti- 
tious fear, that demons may approach with every 
fall of night, to interrupt the government of God> 
or that ghosts of the departed may return, with 
power vastly augmented by their absence, to dis~ 



DESTRUCTION OF SODOM. 23 

turb the habitations of the living; and what is 
much worse, leads men to rely for their accept 
ance with God on rites and outward forms, which 
exist apart from righteousness, and peace,and joy- 
in the Holy Ghost. 

Miraculous events are discredited because of 
their strangeness. But if we regard God not only 
as the creator and preserver of the world, but, 
as he is also, the moral governor, we shall more 
naturally be led to remark, that it is more strange 
that he does not come forth more frequently to dis- 
turb the natural order of events, and make a 
wicked world to feel that they cannot sin with 
impunity; more strange, that the life of the first 
sinner was permitted to run on in the avenues of a 
comfortable existence for several hundred years, 
than that he, whose moral law he had broken, and 
let loose a torrent of evil upon a world, did not, 
contrary to the ordinary course of things, throw 
an obstruction into the current of life and stop it at 
once; more strange, that he who had just set in 
motion the harmonious machinery of the Universe, 
to be regulated by perfectly adjusted laws, to be 
the habitation of morally perfect beings, when 
the moral beauty of his workmanship was defaced, 
did not more distinctly interfere and destroy his 
physical workmanship — that he left so much of it 
perfect, to afford happiness still to the intelligent 
part of creation, who had done so much to spoil 
the whole; more strange, that, when the genera- 
tions of men run on, with wickedness increasing 
like a torrent and inundating the world morally, and 
deepening century after century, God did not 
come forth sooner for the vindication of his govern- 
ment, and counteracting the uniform course of the 



24 DESTRUCTION OF SODOM. 

elements inundate it with a flood; more strange^ 
that, when mankind had started again to populate 
the world from one man, upon the sepulchre of a 
former world, and with this perpetual monument 
of God's justice under their feet, he did not again 
come forth in terrible majesty for four hundred 
years, till the cities of the plain had reached such 
a pitch of unheard of wickedness, as that mankind 
ever afterward are to know and remember their 
sin, by having it called, in penal statutes, Sodomy \ 
after the name of their chief city; more strange, 
that now, God is withholding his anger from wicked 
nations, and from our own, and keeping the stupen- 
dous mechanism of nature in such harmonious play, 
that sinners from year to year may riot on the pro- 
duct of its wonderful action, than that he should 
now come forth in his great power, and derange 
the workmanship, and leave the guilty to mourn; 
more strange, (I appeal to your consciences who 
have never sorrowed for violating God's moral 
law,) that you should live and be happy upon the 
product of a mighty physical economy, dependent 
on the harmonious conservation of many magnifi- 
cent worlds, and you willingly, and continually, 
setting at naught God's moral economy, that your 
heart should move on in its wonderous play, 
through these years of forgetfulness, without mis- 
sing one stroke in the incalculable number — that 
your lungs should so long puff the air, which you 
refuse to employ as the medium of prayer, or praise 
to him, who never for a moment has withheld the 
necessary supply; — is it not more strange, that 
miracles of judgment have been so rare, than that 
they have been at all? And is it not equally 
strange, that because judgment is God's strange 



DESTRUCTION OF SODOM. 25 

work, that he has been so slow to interfere with 
the laws of nature, productive of life and happi- 
ness — that this very fact should become a reason 
for disputing his government, and of doubting 
whether he means to punish sinners hereafter. 

This disposition that would keep God out of 
view in the government of nations, and especially 
a God that would punish them for their sins, has 
been before us in the work of the interpretation of 
this remarkable event. And the effort has been 
made, to account for it altogether by the operation 
of natural causes. It has been assigned to light- 
ning, to earthquake, to volcano, to all these powerful 
agents combined. The region, it is said, gives abund- 
ant evidence of being impregnated with bituminous^ 
inflamable matter of which Moses gives intimation 
by the mention of the slime pits. It is also said 
to bear evident marks of a volcanic region. The 
lightning falling upon the inflamable matter, with 
which the valley abounded, and inflaming it, entered 
the fissures of the earth, until reaching the hidden 
stores below, produced earthquake, and volcanic 
eruption, throwing the burning lava on high, which 
fell as a shower of burning brimstone upon the de- 
voted cities. At the same time the earthquake 
sunk the valley, and the Jordon flowing in to fill 
up the space, made the Dead Sea. 

Whatever causes may be admitted, in the explan- 
ation of this extraordinary event, doubtless, we are 
not to exclude the immediate agency of God. To 
this Moses at once, without any philosophizing, 
ascribes it. And this is a grand difference between 
the spirit of the Bible, and a certain modern spirit* 
which is too common. The inspired writers see a 
God in every event which befell a nation, or over- 



26 DESTRUCTION OP SODOM. 

turned a city. The spirit of an unwise philosophy 
would see a God no where. In accomplishing the 
submersion of this devoted valley, electricity, \he 
volcano, and the earthquake, may have combined 
their forces, with tremendous power; but it was 
at the bidding of Jehovah, and at the appointed 
instant that Lot had made his escape. These fear- 
ful agents may have united their influence to raise 
this fiery tempest; but it was God who rode upon 
the storm, and directed the whirlwind. The sul- 
phurious matter may have abounded in the sites of 
these cities; but it was moral, and not physical 
causes — the wickedness of the inhabitants, not the 
infiamable nature of the soil — which brought the 
angel visitors, those ministers whom God made 
a flame of fire for their destruction, and to this day 
makes it bear the evident marks of a withering 
curse. 

The narrative may lead us to the following 
practical remarks: 

1. Of what enormous wickedness human nature 
is capable. 

The memory of the world's destruction must 
have yet been fresh in their recollection, yet they 
exceed their predecessors in crime. Punishment 
will not reform the heart. Grace, and not wrath, 
must do it. 

2. Sinners are often nearest destruction when 
they least expect it. 

Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty 
spirit before a fall. As it was in the days of Lot, 
so shall it be when the Son of man cometh. When 
they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction 
cometh. 



LECTURE IV. 



MIRACLES OF EGYPT. 

" When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracte 
for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it 
before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. And Moses and 
Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had com- 
manded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before 
his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called 
the wise men and the sorcerers : now the magicians of Egypt, they 
also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast 
down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's 
rod swallowed up their rods." — Exodus 7: 9 — 12. 

In the period of two thousand five hundred years 
in the history of the world from the creation, we 
have noticed only two miraculous events; but here, 
for a season, they seem to be more frequent than 
ordinary events. A new era was about to be intro- 
duced, and God was to communicate a revelation 
of his will to the world, in a written code of law, 
when the Church was to be more particularly sep- 
arated from the world, and distinguished with more 
particular blessings. To usher in, and authenticate 
this new dispensation, it was necessary that the 
proof, that it was from God, should be indubitable. 
For this purpose, a series of astonishing miracles 
was introduced. These served the doubled purpose, 
of satisfying the Hebrews that Moses acted under 
a divine commission, and spoke to them the words 
of God ; and of proving to the heathen that Jehovah 
was the true God, controlled the elements of nature, 
and managed, as he pleased, the affairs of nations. 
To answer the first of these objects, when Moses 



28 MIRACLES OF EGYPT. 

answered the Lord, commanding him to go to 
Egypt for the deliverance of his people: "Behold, 
they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my 
voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not ap- 
peared unto thee." The Lord directed him to cast 
the rod, or shepherd's staff, which he had in his hand 
upon the ground. He did so, and it became a ser- 
pent. He was commanded to put forth his hand, 
and take it, he did so, and it became a rod in his 
hand. This was done, that they might believe 
that the Lord God of their fathers had appeared unto 
him. If they would not believe by this miracle, 
he was to give a second evidence, by his hand be- 
coming leprous and being restored. If this still did 
not satisfy them, he was to take the water of the 
river and pour it upon the dry land, and it was to 
become blood. In this way, ample provision was 
made to satisfy the Hebrews, that Moses was 
divinely commissioned to be their prophet and 
deliverer. God never requires of mankind a blind 
and unreasonable obedience, but always affords 
evidence sufficient to satisfy a reasonable expecta- 
tion, that the authority of God is in the command, 
and that which is required to be done, is proper 
in itself so that disobedience may be always left 
without excuse. 

The evidence of the first sign, was to be given 
to Pharaoh also, to show him that Moses was act- 
ing under the authority of God, in the demand 
which he made for the deliverance of the people. 
It seemed to be presumed, that Pharaoh had a right 
to expect this proof of authority accompanying the 
command, and that expectation was to be answered. 
The world has a right to expect that God would 
accompany his requirements with such evidence as 



MIRACLES OF EGYPT. 20 

should satisfy them, that God did speak to them: 
but when this is given, if they refuse to comply 
with it, they must bear the sin and the punish- 
ment. Moses and Aaron, therefore, did as they 
were commanded, "and Aaron cast down his rod 
before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it 
became a serpent." Pharaoh, in making the de- 
mand for a miracle, was not influenced by the 
desire of being convinced, but more probably from 
the hope that they could not perform it. And that 
thus he might have a reasonable excuse for his refu- 
sal. So it is often with rebellious minds. They 
ask for proof of revelation, or of a particular truth ? 
or duty which is urged upon their attention, not so 
much from the desire of believing or doing it, as 
from the hope, that by finding some flaw in the 
evidence, they may escape the force of the obli- 
gation. And when the proof is complete, they 
still seek some means of weakening it, that they 
may indulge in courses more agreeable to their 
depraved inclinations. 

At first the excuse is, a want of evidence to their 
understanding, while the true difficulty is, an aver- 
sion of the will and affections. And when all 
necessary light is poured upon the understanding, 
the will remains immovable. They say they want 
light, when in fact, they want will. And having 
light, and not will, they are, righteously, subject to 
punishment. 

This first miracle was addressed to the sight of the 
Egyptians, and not designed to produce pain; and 
was, therefore, in a situation to be the better contem- 
plated by the understanding, that the proper moral 
argument might be derived from it. Though it 
was not a plague in itself, it might have been 



30 MIRACLES OF EGYPT. 

regarded as ominous of distress. If it did not inflict 
pain, it looked as though it might; and at its first 
appearence, even Moses, himself, fled from it. If 
it did not make Pharaoh feel, it might have made 
him fear. Though he did not feel the effects of 
its malignant poison, contemplating it might have 
led him to suspect it possible he should. If so 
destructive a reptile could be so strangely, and 
so suddenly made out of so inoffensive a thing as a 
staff, there was reason to fear the power which 
could do that, might soon turn all his enjoyments 
into poison and death; that he who could turn a 
rod, the emblem of regal power, into a viper, if he 
continued in disobedience, might turn his stately 
dominion, on which he leaned with confidence, 
into the fangs of a serpent to him; that the sceptre 
with which he ruled, as with an iron rod, so many 
oppressed subjects of his kingdom, if he refused to 
withdraw it, might turn upon himself with venge- 
ance; that if he refused to contemplate it aright, 
and improve by what was addressed calmly to his 
consideration, he might be made to feel what he 
refused to take timely warning to avoid. God 
first addresses the reason of mankind, before he 
punishes them. He first persuades, before he 
hurts. He gives them time to look at the import 
of the present dispensation, before he brings an- 
other — to anticipate the coming evil, and avoid it, 
before it is inflicted. 

He who properly regards what is addressed to 
him as a being capable of reasoning, will not be 
punished as a being that would not be governed by 
his reason. He that rules himself by the evidence 
of what he sees of the divine will, shall not suffer for 
what he has not seen, and refuses to regard. But 



MIRACLES OF EGYPT. 



31 



Pharaoh refused to be taught by what he saw* 
he, therefore, had to be taught by what he felt. He 
was unwilling to believe that the rod of Moses 9 
that changed into a serpent, was more sovereign 
than his sceptre, or that it would affect his authority; 
therefore, he hardened his heart against God, and 
prepared himself for the contest. And it was now 
to be seen, m awful combat, who should prevail; 
God and Moses on the one side, Pharaoh and the 
Magicians on the other. The shepherd of Midian 9 
at the head of an oppressed and defenceless people^ 
are now at issue with a haughty tyrant, having the 
command of a powerful nation. The Church is to 
emerge from Egyptian despotism, or be lost in the 
darkness of her gloomy superstition. Jehovah is 
to be known as the God of Israel, or the reptiles 
of Egypt are to bear sway, and be adored. The 
Magicians of Egypt are to be the oracles of wis- 
dom, and teach the world religion, or the prophets 
of the Lord are to confound them. God, or the 
Devil, is to receive the homage of the intelligent 
creation, which God made for his honor. The 
Church is to be established on a firmer basis, to 
advance with progressive light, till the Messiah 
come, or to be extinguished in an idolatrous world, 
A system of special institutions was to be given for 
the instruction and salvation of men, to which 
these miracles were to give validity, which were to 
remain until superseded by the more perfect econ- 
omy of the Gospel. This economy, of w r hich the 
miracles of Egypt were the introductory seal, must 
be established with unequivocal evidence. If the 
divine mission, and inspiration of Moses would 
rest upon doubtful evidence, the authority of the 
New Testament dispensation must also fail of being 



32 MIRACLES OF EGYPT. 

established. The two economies are intimately 
connected, and the latter built upon the former, so 
that Christ could say, If ye believe Moses' writings, 
ye will believe my words, for he wrote of me. A 
prophet the Lord was to raise up unto them like 
unto Moses, whom they should hear in all things, 
on the penalty of being cut off from the people. If 
the prophetical character of Moses was not fully 
established, neither is the Messiahship of Christ. 
A failure in one link of the lengthened chain of 
evidence, would let down the whole, and prostrate 
the hopes of the christian world. A mighty result, 
therefore was depending on the success of the Mo- 
saic miracles, at the court of Pharaoh, and upon the 
certainty of the proof by which they are established, 

As might be expected, a mission pregnant with 
such results — events which were to have a bearing 
upon the history of the world, upon the temporal 
and eternal destiny of unborn millions, in a world 
as wicked as this — would not be permitted to take 
place without a struggle — facts, so materially effect- 
ing the kingdom of darkness, and benefitting the 
race, to pass unnoticed, and unopposed by the 
great adversary of the race. 

No sooner does Moses present the credentials of 
his mission, to the Egyptian king, than he is encoun- 
tered by the magicians, those great ministers of 
state, in the kingdom of Satan, that the evidence 
might be weakened, or overthrown. Could they 
have fully succeeded in this attempt, it would have 
been as fatal to the christian system, as if Christ 
had not been victorious in his temptation, or had 
not been raised from the grave according to his 
prediction. 

But, though the religion of the Bible has been 



MIRACLES OP EGYPT* 



33 



the object of the most cunning and violent attack, 
ever since it commenced its transient residence on 
earth, it has always, when fairly brought to the 
trial, clearly proved its celestial origin, and left its 
opposers in confusion. Like the Egyptian wise 
men, they may have had a momentary triumph, on- 
ly to be sunk the deeper in disgrace. When eleva- 
ted at all to the hope of success, it has only been to 
mark more distinctly their fall. "They cast down 
every man his rod, and they became serpents." 
A triumphant imitation it was thought for the 
moment. But, behold! Aaron's rod swallowed 
them up. Where now, is the argument? Beaten 
to nothing. Yet, it serves to cherish the skepti* 
cisms of the Egyptian beholders; because they 
wished to be unconvinced. A counterfeit of reli- 
gious truth, or practice, is eagerly seized by those 
who would live in sin, to ward off the force of truth, 
and keep the conscience in peace. But, if Pharaoh 
will not be convinced by ample evidence addressed 
to his sight, and will harden his heart in the face 
of evidence, he must be touched in a more sensi- 
tive point — the river Nile must be turned into 
blood. This afforded the whole supply of water 
for Egypt. This was giving them blood to drink 
in great measure. The magicians, on a small scale, 
did something, by their art, like it. But if they 
undertook to compete with Moses, on the grand 
scale of miraculous power, w T hy did they not 
restore the river to its purity? This would have 
been something worthy of an effort. The fourth 
miracle they acknowledged was beyond their 
power to imitate, and confessed that the power 
of God was concerned in it, and left the field to 
be occupied by Moses, without dispute. What 

3 



34 MIRACLES OF EGYPT. 

was really done by these magicians, is a matter 
about which there are different opinions. Some 
think that they wrought real miracles, by the power 
of Satan, God permitting it, for the higher proof 
of his own power and truth, in the end. Others, 
that they practiced a deception upon the senses, as 
it is said they did so with their enchantments. But 
whatever was done by them, the result was more 
conclusive on the side of truth, than if there had 
been no opposition. So it has always been with 
the evidence of the christian system. It has 
strengthened by the combat, and been enriched by 
the spoils of the enemy. The opposing priest- 
hoods of false religions have always been the most 
difficult to overcome, and do most to keep the mass 
of the people in ignorance of the truth. It was so 
in Eoypt. Had it not been for them, the people* 
and Pharaoh himself, would have yielded sooner. 
It is so now in India, in China, and in all heathen 
countries. It is so in all popish countries, and 
heretical sects among protestants. But, encour- 
agement is afforded on the page of prophecy, 
that as the religious counselors, and the leaders of 
the people of Egypt left the contest before half the 
evidence was presented, and the true church was 
left to an undisputed victory, so it will be in the 
history of the world. And "the greatness of the 
kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to 
the saints of the Most High." 



REMARKS. 

The miracles of Egypt afford an instructive and 
impressive lesson, to individuals and nations, to obey 
God, and do their duty, in whatever he has clearly 
made known his will. 



MIRACLES OF EGYPT. 35 

1. Because if they do not, they must be punished, 
and the punishment increased in proportion to the 
light afforded, and the determination and length of 
the resistance. This he will do, if all nature must 
be subverted. 

2. The exhaustless storehouses of vengeance, God 
can draw upon for humbling his enemies, and sus- 
taining his cause. Even every blessing can be 
turned into a resistless scourge. 



LECTURE V, 

PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA. 

"And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord 
caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and 
made the sea dry land, and the waters were dividt d. And the chil- 
dren of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: 
and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on 
their left."— Gev. 14: 21, 22. 

The miracles of the Old Testament history, so 
far as they have yet come under our notice, have 
been of the most sublime and magnificent descrip- 
tion — The creation of the world, the destruction 
of its lining inhabitants, and the disruption of its 
material structure, — the overwhelming of the aban- 
doned cities of the plain, and the laying waste of the 
wealth, the beauty, and the life of Egypt, the cra- 
dle of science, and humbling her proud monarch 
by a series of unparalleled miraculous adversities. 
The miracles of Christ have more the aspect of 
benevolence; these more the aspect of judgment. 
The miracles of the New Testament were more for 
the relief of individual suffering; these for national 
relief. When a miracle of the New Testament 
produced misery upon the subject of it, it was usu- 
ally to an individual only; but here, a whole city, 
a nation, or the world, is made to feel it. This 
aspect of the miracles of this period, may be in 
correspondence with the difference of the adminis- 
tration of the government of God in the church, 
in these two periods of time. In the first, God's 
government was more by law*, and the execution 



PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA, 



37 



of corporeal penalties; in the last, more by spirit- 
ual motives, and the influence of grace upon the 
soul. Then the fear of temporal distress was more 
addressed in order to secure obedience; now the 
fear of future punishment, and the hope of future 
rewards, in order to restrain from sin and lead to a 
life of faith. Then mankind were impelled more 
by authority; now they are more drawn by kind- 
ness. If the miracles of the New Testament, in 
conformity with the dispensation, have more in 
them to impress us with the love of God, and draw 
us as with the chords of Jove; the miracles of the 
Mosaic history, in conformity with the dispensa- 
tion, have more to impress us with the power and 
justice of God, and to lead us to fear to offend that 
power, before which, offending, we cannot stand. 
As the miracles of the New Dispensation, agreeing 
to its gracious influences, were wrought upon indi- 
viduals, rather than upon whole nations; so the 
miracles of the Old Dispensation, agreeing more 
with the grace of it, were wrought in behalf of 
whole communities at once. As the force of the 
evidence of the ancient miracles could not be 
resisted without exposing to national and individ- 
ual calamity, much less can the light of the evi- 
dence of both be resisted, without exposing to a 
greater calamity. If they who sinned under Moses' 
law died without mercy, under two or three wit- 
nesses, of how much sorer punishment shall he be 
accounted worthy, who hath trodden under foot 
the blood of the Son of God, and hath done des- 
pite to the Spirit of Grace. Yea, I say unto you, 
fear him who, after he hath killed, hath power to 
destroy both soul and body in helL It is the pre- 
rogative of God, to effect the greatest and most 



38 PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA. 

unlikely results, by feeble and improbable means'. 
Who would have expected, in the beginning of this 
enterprise, for the deliverance of the sons of Jacob 
from the furnace of their affliction, to have seen 
their tribes freed so soon from the yoke of their 
oppressors, and on their triumphant march to the 
land of promise. A little while since, you saw a 
shepherd of Midian attending his flocks, and, at 
the command of God, issuing forth from the retire- 
ment of the mountains, without power, without 
favor, on an enterprise for the deliverance of a 
nation, which for four hundred and thirty years 
had been enslaved by the strong arms of a power- 
ful nation. What would human foresight say of 
the folly of such an expedition? An old man of 
eighty, attended only by his brother of eighty- 
three, to influence two nations at once; the one to 
be willing to be made free, and the other to be wil- 
ling to free them. The one to become the willing 
subjects of the government of God, and regulate 
their lives by his institutions; the other, so far to 
submit to the revealed will of God, as to be willing 
to permit them. All that weak, ignorant, and 
erring man can know, is a few of the small objects, 
which are immediately around him, and of these, 
only a few of their more obvious qualities and rela- 
tions. At one place we are dazzled by an excess 
of light, at another we are distressed, and repulsed 
by dimness and obscurity. The sun forbids us to 
behold his face, by reason of his splendor, and the 
earth, and ocean, permit us to look at their surface 
only. In the lapse of a few years, Ave loose sight 
of the past, while the future is impenetrable to our 
vision. Open prospect after prospect, and add fac- 
ulty to faculty, still we find ourselves limited and 



PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA, 



39 



hemmed in, by a hedge and depth still beyond, 
which the understanding of an angel cannot fathom. 
God alone can "declare the end from the begin- 
ning, and from ancient times the things that are 
not yet come, saying, my counsel shall stand, and I 
will do all my pleasure." God, who has the know- 
ledge to predict, has also the power to accomplish 
the most unlooked for events. "He had said unto 
Abraham, Know of a surety that thy seed shall 
be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall 
serve them; and they shall afflict them four hun- 
dred years: And also that nation, whom they 
shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they 
come out with great substance." Upon how many 
unforseen contingencies does the fulfillment of 
this depend? Jacob has not yet returned with 
savory meat, to supplant his brother. Joseph's 
coat, that excited the envy ©f his brothers, is not 
yet woven. The famine, which took Jacob's sons 
to Egypt, is far remote, dependent upon the move- 
ment of many a cloud, and the varying state of 
many an atmosphere. The decree of Pharaoh, to 
put to death the male children of the Hebrews, is 
among the hidden things of the unknown future. 
The rushes have not yet grown, of which the little 
basket is to be made, to save the future law-giver 
of Israel, in the waters of the Nile. Pharaoh's 
daughter, his adopted mother, is yet to be born, 
before the education of the deliverer commences. 
And after all these preliminary steps take place in 
the course of an ordinary, contingent* yet certain 
providence, God has to come forth in the majesty 
of miraculous events, and the shepherd's crook of 
Moses is to be changed into a venomous reptile; 
the waters of Egypt are to change their qualities 



40 PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA. 

into a sea of blood; the frogs of the marshes are 
to be multiplied, and pour forth their hosts in the 
chambers of Egypt's princes; the magicians are to 
be baffled in a fair trial of supernatural skill, and 
submit to the power of God: the cattle of the field 
are to fall under incurable disease; the locusts are 
to be congregated upon the field of Zoan; and 
darkness intolerable is to shut out the last ray of 
day from the subjects of the oppressor: and finally > 
the angel of death, at midnight, is to leave every 
house in mourning for the first born. All this, and 
more, had to be done by voluntary agents, and by 
a sovereign God, before it was said, "It came to 
pass at the end of four hundred and thirty years, 
even the self-same day it come to pass, that all 
the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of 
Egypt." So wonderfully do miracles of know- 
ledge, and miracles of power co-operate, and prove 
each other true. So firmly do these two pillars of the 
christian faith support the superstructure which is 
built upon them. No unforseen event can prevent 
the one; no resistance can prevent the other. 

But, a providence often mysterious to us, seems 
frequently to counteract its own most wonderful 
doings. Now, when the church is delivered from 
the oppression of a tyrannical, civil power, by a 
series of unheard of interpositions, and is on her 
march to the land of her free institutions and sol- 
emn rites; and under the direction too, of an angel 
guide, they are turned out of the direct course into 
a crooked and impassable way, till they approach 
the Red Sea, and are hedged in on each side by 
untrodden mountains. Pharaoh, too, having re- 
pented that he yielded so easily to a demand which 
was robbing him of so many faithful subjects, and 



PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA. 41 

so much of his income and national wealth, had 
collected his forces in haste, was hard pursuing and 
about to overtake them in this unfavorable place* 
where they could neither defend themselves, go for- 
ward, nor flee. Had they gone the straight, course to 
Canaan, from Rameses, they would not have touched 
the Red Sea, nor have been entangled by these moun- 
tains; why, then, does the miraculous pillar itself, the 
emblem of the divine presence, lead them into this 
difficulty? Because difficulties are to be met, and 
overcome in the way of duty, is not of itself suffi- 
cient proof that we are wrong. If we only have the 
evidence, that we are following the direction of 
the command, we may rely with confidence upon 
divine protection and assistance. If God has led 
us in a way which brings us into difficulty, we may 
hope that his light and shade will not forsake us* 
And if God has done many and great things for us 
heretofore, we may be sure, if we continue to trust 
him, that he will not lose all his own work for us., 
and thus suffer his own honor to be brought into 
question. Every special act, which God does lor 
his people, is a pledge that he will do for them* 
that which remains to be done. His honor, then* 
becomes one with their interest, so that his prom- 
ise cannot fail. His people would not so much 
realize their dependence, or praise him for his 
goodness, if they were never made to feel that 
there is no other helper: and the more complete 
the difficulty, the more will be the praise. That 
trial, which in the prospect may seem to be the 
destruction of our hopes, may be the means of 
invigorating them. That road which to us seems 
meandering through a sea, and a desert, may, after 
all, not only be the nearest, but the only way to 



e 



42 



PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA. 



heaven. Your enemies, which closely pursue you, 
may be most effectually overcome, when you most 
expected to fall by their hands; and your best 
songs of praise may arise from events which you 
dreaded most. 

But, in difficulty, and even with the presence of 
God to guide and encourage you, you are not to 
give up yourselves to despondency and inaction. 
At this crisis, when Israel was encompassed with 
difficulty, when human policy was at an end, part 
of them, against all reason and propriety, and only 
to increase the distress, began to fault Moses for 
bringing them from the land of their bondage. 
However unkind, and unreasonable this was, it is 
a fair specimen of human nature. How often is it* 
that those who have most of the responsibility, and 
do most for the benefit of others, are blamed for 
their best and most benevolent acts. Especially is 
this the case, when things do not seem to proceed 
prosperously. But Moses, and the better part, 
were acting more wisely. In this emergency, they 
betook themselves to prayer to God, from whom 
alone relief could come. This is the natural resort 
of the christian in trouble. He casts his burdens 
upon the Lord, and he sustains them. But even in 
this he may err. He may be satisfying himself 
with this, when he should be doing something else, 
and his devotion must be interrupted by a voice 
directing him to another duty* Wherefore, saith 
the Lord unto Moses, "criest thou unto me? speak 
unto the children of Israel, that they go forward." 
Important as prayer is, it will not do to substitute 
it in the place of other duties. There is a time for 
the church to go forward and exemplify every 
good work, as well as to be on her knees. Had 



PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA* 43 

Moses and his associates, continued in prayer only* 
they would have been made prisoners by Pharaoh. 
Having looked to God for help, he must prove his 
sincerity by trying to help himself. God does not 
help the idle. Moses must stretch his rod over the 
sea, and he, with the people, must march. Though 
their salvation was of God, it was not on that, but 
on the other side of the sea, and by marching 
through it, it was to be secured* If you are 
to share God's salvation, you must obey his com- 
mands. Moses proves his faith, by his obedience* 
He stretches the sovereign rod over the sea. It 
obeys, and opens a highway upon its untrodden 
channel for the hosts of the Lord. Its watery 
side-walls mark the course. The luminous cloud 
scatters the darkness. By the morning light they 
find themselves safely landed on the further shore, 
and praise their God in a morning song. Pharaoh 
and his host pursuing, the water closes up : the way 
upon them, and they are swept to the shore dead 
men. 

Several methods have been employed to impeach 
the credibility of this narrative, which, however, 
instead of effecting the object, have afforded so 
many grounds for the triumph of truth. 



REMARKS. 

1. We may regard this event as an emblem 
and pledge of the final triumph of truth over error, 
and of the Church over all her enemies. (Rev. 15: 
2—4.) 

2. As illustrating the union of Almighty aid 
and believing effort, in accomplishing this grand 
result. 

8. As encouraging every individual to go forward 



44 PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA, 

in the way of obedience, whatever obstacles may 
be in the way. 

4. As affording certainty that the disobedient 
and rebellious, shall at last be subdued by the 
Almighty ? however long they persevere in resist- 
ance. 



LECTURE VI. 

WATERS OF MARAH. 

"And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the 
waters of Marah, for they were bitter : therefore, the name of it was 
sailed Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying; 
What shall we drink 1 And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord 
shewed him a tree, which, when he had cast into the waters, the 
waters were made sweet : there he made for them a statute and an 
ordinance, and there he proved them, and said, if thou wilt dili- 
gently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy Gotland will do that 
which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, 
and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, 
which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that 
healeth thee. And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of 
water, and threescore and ten pnlm-trees; and they encamped 
there by the waters,"— Exodus, 15: 23—27. 

The doctrine of the Divine Sovereignty, though 
not agreeable to human feelings, is yet a truth, 
which is clearly taught. It is presented to us, not 
only in didactic statements, but also, in historical 
description; not only on the pages of sacred history, 
but in profane; as well as in the every day observa- 
tion of common life. This truth is clearly seen, not 
only in national distinction, but in individual history; 
not only in the varied bestowments of spiritual 
gifts; but also of temporal blessings. Wherever 
we look with a discerning eye 9 we see manifest 
proofs, that there is a God that ruleth in the armies 
©f heaven, and doeth his pleasure upon earth. He 
exalteth one, and casteth down another, and giveth 
the earth, which is his, to the children of men, 
fixing the bounds of the nations at his will, and no 
«ae, in soberness, pretends, that he has a right t© 



46 WATERS OF MARAH. 

dispute his will. The evidence of this truth, is seer- 
with advantage in the history of the children of 
Jacob. 

Why were they selected as the objects of God's 
special favor; and their history made so conspicuous, 
by divine interpositions? Why were they placed 
upon such an elevation, that all the world beside, in 
that, and every subsequent age, have had to look to 
the Hebrews, for law, and for gospel, for the know- 
ledge necessary to live comfortably here, and for the 
wisdom needed for a happy life hereafter? Was 
there any thing of superior excellence in their moral 
nature, which qualified them to give lessons to the 
world, and bring the wisest of all other nations to 
their feet, for instruction? Why is their history so 
peculiarly marked with Jehovah's foot-steps, that 
if we would learn distinctly, the edicts of the Legis- 
lator of the world, or the terms on which he will 
treat with offenders under his government, we must 
take our lessons of highest learning, from Jewish 
history. No other appropriate answer can be given , 
than that of Christ, in another case: "even so Father, 
for so it seemed good in thy sight." 

And if God can confer national privileges, with- 
out giving ground for unfavorably impeaching his 
justice, or attributing to him, a partial administra- 
tion; why may he not do the same thing to individ- 
uals? And if he may make an unequal distribution 
of temporal gifts, why may he not, of spiritual? 

Had Israel laid God under any obligations, to do 
for them what he did? It will be readily answered, 
no. Did he do any wrong to other nations, in doing 
what he did for them? It will be as readily 
answered in the same way? How, then, does it 
come, that God may confer special privileges upon 



WATERS OF MARAH. 47 

a community of individuals, without meriting a 
complaint against his sovereignty ; while, if he is re- 
garded as bestowing special favor upon an individual, 
the objection of partiality must be considered as in 
full force? How is it, that God can be a respecter 
of persons, on a great scale, without fault, while he 
cannot do it on a small scale, without fault. That 
he may have respect to a whole community, as 
compared with another, without wrong, in the view 
of certain reasoners, while he cannot have respect to 
an individual, without wrong. In the view of such 
minds, God may be a sovereign over men in the 
mass; but loses this character over man, as an 
individual. He may bestow national grace; but, he 
cannot, without impeaching his administration, be- 
stow individual grace. How this difference comes, 
is not easily seen. The answer to the questions, 
"who maketh thee to differ, and what hast thou, 
that thou hast not received?"— may be as easily, and 
fairly given in an individual, as in a national case ? 
and so far as the rectitude of the divine government 
is concerned, as properly in reference to spiritual 
as to temporal benefactions. The truth being in 
each case, so far as sinners, and even the best of 
the men of this world are concerned, in conferring 
good upon them; that it is not the justice, but the 
sovereignty of God that is employed. If justice 
only, was consulted, misery would be the entire 
effect. If Israel, the favored people, had laid a plan, 
and made their calculation, to have proved to the 
world, their unworthiness of the distinguished 
goodness conferred upon them, it would seem as if 
they could not have accomplished it better than they 
did. And if God had designed to give an exhibi- 
tion to the world of his sovereignty, in the bestow* 



48 



WATERS OF MARAH. 



ment of his favors ; of his benevolence, in lavishing 
kindness upon the unworthy; and of long suffering 
patience, in not consuming the ungrateful, no people 
could have been more properly selected, upon whom 
to display these attributes. Bat, even in the insta- 
bility and ungratefulness of their character, they 
are a fair specimen, more or less applicable to every 
individual case, upon whom a gracious God conde- 
scends to bestow special favor, so that instances, 
even among the saved, will never be found, in whom 
their goodness has been in advance of God's kindness 
to them; and become a meritorious reason, why 
God should so have regarded them; and in this way, 
a foundation is laid for securing the praise of all our 
salvation to a sovereign God, saying, "not unto us, 
not unto us, but to thy name give glory, for thy 
mercy and thy truths' sake. Unto him that loved us, 
and washed us in his own blood, and hath made us 
kings and priests unto God, and his Father; to him 
be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." 
What a contrast in the circumstances and feelings 
of the people, is here seen, to that, which they 
shewed three days before. Then you see them in 
a magnificent musical concert, filling the shore of 
the Red Sea. The occasion was peculiar — calculated 
to produce the mingled emotions of terror and 
gratitude. They gave utterance to their feelings, 
in a most sublime and appropriate sacred song, the 
oldest poetical composition in the world ; and all the 
proficients in the art, have never excelled this first 
specimen. The music was adapted to the words, 
and the performers to the music: on one side, Moses 
leading the lower notes of manly voices, on the 
other, Miriam, in sweet accord, blending the softer 
harmony of female strains, with the notes of the 



WATERS OF MARAH* 



49 



timbrel, in praise of their great Deliverer; an 
emblem of a still future, and yet more interesting 
scene, when the ransomed of the Lord shall return 
to Zion, with songs, and everlasting joy upon their 
heads; when they shall obtain joy and gladness, 
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. But till 
that long looked for period arrive, there is more to 
be done than to delight the ear with the softest 
harmony, and chant the notes of victory over a 
vanquished enemy. In the season of the convert's 
espousals to his Redeemer, or of the church's pecu- 
liar blessing, when her God is in her of a truth, 
and makes the place of his footsteps glorious, she 
may feel she has nothing more to do, than to expe- 
rience and give utterance to joyful emotion, and 
say with the disciples on the mount of transfigura- 
tion, "It is good to be here." Let us make taber- 
nacles to remain* But the toil of the vale below is 
not be done on the mount. His Lord has work for 
Peter to do* He has other ways for him to glorify 
him, besides reposing in the displays of his trans- 
figuration. He can do this better, though not 
easier, on a cross, than on the mount. The chris- 
tian's business, though more agreeable, is not 
so much to sing the song of victory over van- 
quished spiritual foes, as to go on to further con- 
quest; not so much to number the steps he has 
taken, as to calculate the distance he has yet to go; 
not so much to solace himself with excessive joy in 
present attainments, as to press on to higher; not 
to think, because he to-day has a clear sky and a 
serene heaven, that to-morrow it may not be over- 
cast with clouds. Though one important difficulty 
may be overcome, and it is his privilege to rejoice 
in it; yet he is to calculate, that another still 



50 WATEJIS OF MARAH. 

remains, and to prepare for it, so that when it 
comes he may endure it without repining. The 
possession of Canaan is not always the next step 
to our escape from Egypt. Justification by the 
grace of God, puts us beyond the reach of our ene- 
mies to destroy us, and adoption makes good our 
title to the inheritance of the saints in light, but it 
is sanctification that makes us meet for the pur- 
chased possession. ' After many a discouraging 
effort, Israel made their way to the Red Sea. But 
there their way seemed completely stopped, till 
God opened the passage. So the candidate for 
the heavenly land, before the chains of his native 
state of captivity to sin are broken, makes many 
efforts to come to the Redeemer, till at last, hedged 
in on every side, he is shut up to the faith of the 
Gospel, and made to stand still and see the sal- 
vation of the Lord. Deliverance having been 
wrought for him, in an unexpected way, his soul is 
filled with thankfulness, and his lips with praise. 
All the enemy that was in sight having been van- 
quished, he cannot realize the fact, that there are 
others in the rear. But the burying of his past 
sins in the sea of God's forgetfulness, by an act of 
justifying mercy, is only the commencement of 
his heavenly progress. He is not yet taught the 
deceitfulness of sin. He is yet to be disciplined by 
many preparatory, and, it may be, irksome lessons, 
for the higher school of heaven. For this purpose, 
he must go out from the shore, and try the wilder- 
ness; and to his shame and sorrow, he often finds 
it does not take long to prove what is in his heart. 
The language of the poet describes his case— 

"But ere one fleeting hour is past, 
The flattering world employs 



WATERS OF MARAH. 51 

Some sensual bait to seize my taste, 
And to pollute my joys." 

And of the bitter waters of Marah succeeding the 
song to the Red Sea, he says: 

" Then I repent and vex my soul, 

That I should leave thee so ; 
Where will those wild affections rove, 

That let a Savior go. 1" 

The first difficulty Israel meets with after leaving 
the scene of God's astonishing interposition in their 
behalf, and their joyful celebration of it, the people 
murmured against Moses, saying, "What shall we 
drink." What was unpleasant water to being 
delivered from the brick-kilns of Egypt, when 
they were to have it only for a single encampment! 
Look, too, at the impiety of laying the blame on 
Moses, when God, and not Moses, was their con- 
ductor, and in the most convincing manner had 
just proved himself so, in dividing the sea, which 
they had so beautifully acknowledged in their 
hymn of praise. Had not the wondrous pillar, 
which had illuminated their highway through the 
deep, marked the place of their encampment? The 
heart is not only ungrateful, but attempts to escape 
the appearance of it, by charging what is deficient 
upon the creature. It has not the bravery to 
charge it at once upon God. But against him* it is 
made. Did not God make these waters what they 
were, and did he not lead the people to them? Is 
your condition in life what Providence, or duty 
made it? or is that trial one to which the cloudy 
pillar has conducted you? Blame not the second 
causes, for in so doing you murmur against God. 
But what gives rise to all this sound of murmur, 
which you hear from the abodes even of the can- 



52 WATERS OF MARAH. 

didates for heaven? What gives rise to all this 
chiding by the way? Brackish water for a night. 
And have they not much common and special 
good beside, and hope soon to be put in possession 
of what eye hath not seen, nor ear heard? Yes; 
but there is one slight inconvenience for the pres- 
ent, and all beside must be undervalued, or forgot- 
ten. Oblige an ungrateful person ever so often, 
and disappoint him once, and the memory of a 
thousand benefits is instantly lost. All that Moses, 
or God has done, is forgotten the moment a little 
bitter water is tasted. Nothing possessed is of any 
account, while one thing is wanting. One unpala- 
table drink obliterates all the wonders of Egypt, 
and the more recent miracles of the Red Sea. Is 
this the history of ancient ingratitude, or is it the 
history of thine? But, observe the goodness of 
God. More ready to listen to the entreaties of 
Moses, than to punish the perverseness of the peo- 
ple. And he instantly directs him to a cure for 
these unpleasant waters. It has been made a sub- 
ject of inquiry, whether there was any miracle in 
this? and whether there was not something in the 
quality of this wood to effect the remedy. The 
answer to this inquiry is not of great importance. 
We incline to this opinion, — that it was merely 
a sign without efficacy in itself: as the spittle and 
the clay used by Christ, or the rod by Moses. But, 
what a state of mind did the people show for such 
another interposition? Truly God delighteth in 
mercy, and in magnifying his grace. You will 
derive advantage from the contemplation of this 
subject. 

I. By cherishing a sense of the importance cf 
feeing governed by a steady and fixed principle. 



WATERS OF MAR AH. 53 

Neither being over elated with the good, nor dis- 
tressed with the ills of life. They are set against 
each other, and neither of long continuance. Man 
without the government of his feelings, by princi- 
ple, or the christian, if he does not walk by faith, is 
like the mercury in the tube of the thermometer, 
varying with every change of the wind. 

% By avoiding a repining spirit. You will 
accomplish this by considering, 1. How little you 
deserve. 2. How much you receive. 3. By ac- 
commodating your desires to your condition. 4. 
By considering the shortness of your pilgrimage. 



LECTURE VII. 



MANNA. 

" And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up and covered 
the camp; and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. 
And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of 
the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar 
frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they 
said one to another, It is manna : for they wist not what it was. 
And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath 
given you to eat." — Exodus 16: 13 — 15. 

In the plan of a comprehensive providence, God 
often seems to lay himself under an obligation to 
answer a demand, which the necessitv of his own 
arrangements has created. The human constitu- 
tion might have been so arranged, as not to be 
under the necessity of being sustained by a con- 
stant recurrence to food. What occurred to the 
Savior in human nature, and to Moses on Sinai, 
when they lived without inconvenience forty days, 
without the nourishment necessary to support our 
dependent nature in ordinary circumstances, could, 
with equal ease, have been made the common expe- 
rience of the race. But in the organization of our 
natures, God has made it otherwise. Not only our 
comfort, but our present existence, depends upon 
the regular supply of food. To meet this neces- 
sity, which God himself has produced, there is an 
evident provision made in the very structure of 
physical nature herself. In the laws of the great 
economy of the heavens, and the earth, in the 
wonderful adaptation of means to produce certain 
results, there is manifest evidence of a design ta 



MANNA. 



55 



support oar dependent nature In the manner in 
which our experience teaches us it must be sup- 
ported. That this necessary supply be regularly 
afforded to the world's population, it is not only 
indispensable that nature continue her customary 
uniformity on the surface of the earth, that vegeta- 
ble life continue its usual fraitfalness, and the ani- 
mal tribes their productiveness; but that this may 
be the case, all the laws of the great system of 
worlds, with which our own globe itself stands 
intimately connected, must be preserved in exact 
and uniform operation. One slight derangement, 
an hundred million of miles distant, might effect 
and destroy the entire productivenes of the earth, 
and leave all its inhabitants to pine and perish in 
want A complete system of dependency prevails 
through the entire workmanship of God, so far as 
known to us, both in physical and spiritual nature; 
so that a thought cannot be originated, without the 
concurrent will of him who gave to mind its being, 
or a shock of wheat matured, if the sun, ninety- 
five millions of miles distant, refuses to shine upon 
it. Why, then, has the Creator established such a 
wonderfully complex, and, apparently, laborious 
mechanism, for the accomplishment of an end, 
when so far as man's sustenance was concerned, 
it could have been effected without it? The wis- 
dom of God is seen in effecting more than a single 
end, by the means which he sees proper to employ. 
The air which we breathe, is also the medium of 
sounds which we hear; the means of navigating 
the ocean below us, and the mighty vehicle of car- 
rying it above us, and pouring it out in due propor- 
tions upon every hill and valley on the thirsty 
earth. The same sun which warms into maturity 



56 MANNA. 

the vegetable grain that feeds us, gives us light to 
see the varied beauties with which the Creator has 
decked his workmanship, and at the same time 
holds our earthy with all her sister planets, in their 
exact proportions in the immensity of space, with 
such a force that a world in rapid flight cannot com- 
pel him to yield a hair's breadth in a thousand revo- 
lutions. This wonderful economy, by which God 
feeds his dependent creation, is designed to answer 
many other important purposes beside feeding the 
hungry, and giving drink to the thirsty — purposes 
which could never have been answered, if we had 
been so formed, as never to feel these sensations. 
In this way we are taught our dependence, and are 
led to thankfulness,. Through the means by which 
a supply is afforded, the infinite power, and bound- 
less benevolence of the Creator, are seen; and the 
material nature is made a prompter to becoming 
moral feelings; and unconscious laws, and unthink- 
ing matter, become the theatre of spiritual praise. 
This causing, or permitting difficulties to exist, 
which seem to embarrass the grand design, (which 
may be a peculiarity in the plans of God,) is dis- 
tinctly seen in this narrative of the journey of the 
church from Egypt to the land of promise, and has 
been brought against its credibility, by the oppo- 
sers of its truth. It is asked, "Why this wander- 
ing in the deserts of Arabia forty years, when they 
could have gone in four days, without passing the 
Red Sea, or starving in the wilderness?" When 
we judge of the divine procedure by our limited 
views, we are ever liable to err. Moses might 
have conducted them by a much nearer route to 
Canaan. But unarmed as they were, and their 
spirits broken by long servitude, they were not in 



MANNA. 57 

a condition to contend with the warlike Philistines, 
who would have disputed their passage. They 
might have been led by a nearer way, but you 
would have heard nothing of the pillar of cloud, 
and the angel of God's presence going before 
them; nothing of the dividing of the Red Sea, 
and their preservation by those watery walls, 
which destroyed their enemies; nothing of God 
sending down manna upon them, and giving 
them food from heaven: flesh as thick as dust, and 
feathered fowls like the sand of the sea; nothing 
of his descent upon Mount Sinai, when he bowed 
the heavens and came down, and darkness was 
under his feet when he rode upon the cherubim^ 
and did fly — and came flying upon the wings of 
the wind. This was the scene which God had 
selected for the display of his almighty power and 
goodness. As they were to be put in possession of 
distinguished blessings, they were to be prepared 
for them, by a proper course of preparatory discip- 
line. A moral law, for the government of the 
world, was to be promulged, or man live in perpet- 
ual disregard of his obligations. The primary les- 
sons of the gospel were to be taught, or the nations 
continue to die without hope. The fundamental 
principle of human government, and political law, 
must be taught the race, or they would never 
understand and practice aright the relative duties^ 
and the blessings of free, civil institutions never be 
enjoyed. For the purpose of instructing the world 
in these great and essential principles, so intimately 
connected with man's present and eternal happi- 
ness, with his individual and social interest, it was 
worth detaining Israel forty years on the journey* 
especially, when God himself undertook to bear 



58 MANNA. 

their expenses, to feed and clothe them, and give 
them drink. These great arrangements for giving 
law and gospel to the world, for the establishment 
of civil and ecclesiastical government, could be bet- 
ter attended to in these circumstances, when the 
people had nothing else to do — when they were 
freed from worldly cares, in a country where they 
had no home, and no interest, and were provided 
for by special divine interposition, than when they 
were settled in their own inheritance, and pressed 
with earthly care. Thus, as the production of a 
regular supply of natural food is connected with 
causes the most distant in the material system, and 
is connected with many beneficial results, both 
physical and moral, in the great kingdom of nature, 
of which, gratifying the appetite is among the small- 
est. So, supplying the camp of Israel with food, 
miraculously, had other objects in view, which were 
to have an influence, not only upon the Jewish nation 
in all their future history, but also to have an influ- 
ence on the character of the world, both individu- 
ally and nationally, in time and in eternity. When 
God, therefore, seems to throw embarrassments in 
the way of his own undertaking, it is for the pro- 
duction of some great result, for the display of his 
perfections, for the further revelation of his will, 
and for the good of man. 

If we were to be the judges, Providence would 
usually be too slow, or too fast, and we are gener- 
ally disposed to go before its leadings, or lag behind. 
Had we lived then, and knew that Israel was to be 
freed from Egypt, and that Moses was to do it, 
when w r e heard of his birth, we would have 
expected that the deliverance was at hand. But 
forty years revolve before Moses interposes at all, 



MANNA, 



59 



and then only to avenge an individual wrong. 
Forty years more expire before he comes by a 
commission from heaven, and yet forty years more 
roll on, and Moses dies with the commission in his 
hand, and all the men that come out of Egypt with 
him, except two, make their graves in the wilder- 
ness, before the church inherits the promise. Let 
us learn not to run ahead of Providence, to effect 
what appears to us desirable, or be discouraged, 
and conclude that what God has encouraged us 
to expect will never be accomplished, because it 
seems to be long delayed. And let us not be 
discouraged because of difficulties in the accom- 
plishment of a great and useful purpose. These 
may be a part of the original plan of Providence 
for important ends, which are to us at present 
unknown. 

Tf God can overrule the evils which ungodly 
men, and wicked spirits throw in the way of his 
designs, how much more will he make the difficul- 
ties, which he himself interposes, contribute to 
good and great results. And in this view, the folly 
of repining at the dispensations of Providence 
at once appears, and will help us to understand 
what appears to be a mystery in the economy of 
grace — that all afflictive things shall work together 
for good to them who love God — that tribulations 
are a ground of glorying, and trials of rejoicing. 

The miracle of these events appears, 1. In 
reference to the flesh which was provided, not, 
perhaps, in creating the quails which were fur- 
nished, but in directing them to their encampments 
at that particular time, according to promise, and 
the prediction of Moses. It was about the middle 
of April, when these birds are known to fly out 



60 MANNA. 

of Egypt across the Red Sea, in great quantities. 
2. With reference to the manna, the miracle 
appears, 1. That it fell but six days in the week. 
2. That it fell in such prodigious quantities, as to 
supply about three millions of people. 3. That 
there fell a double quantity on every sixth day. 4. 
That which was gathered the first five days, if 
preserved, stank, and bred worms, if kept over one 
day; but that which was gathered on the sixth 
day, would keep sweet two days; and that it con- 
tinued falling during their abode in the wilderness. 
The quails appear to have been provided on this 
occasion only, but the manna forty years. We 
ask your attention with a view to personal profit 
to the following general 

REMARKS : 

1. You are justified in expecting the extraordi- 
nary, or gracious interposition of God in your 
behalf, only in reference to that which you cannot 
do yourselves — that which you cannot do in the 
most rational use of the means to do it. Man is 
prone to cast his work, not his care upon God. 
This listless and indolent disposition, often wants to 
call itself by the name of dependence on the good- 
ness of heaven. We tempt God, instead of honor- 
ing him, w T hen we cast our work upon him, instead 
of our dependence. Jehovah performs the wonders 
of his power and grace, not to save our exertions s 
but to do what we cannot. It was w T hen Israel 
had no bread, and could not obtain it by their 
efforts, that God sent it. Divine power was not 
employed in putting it into their vessels, but in 
placing it within their reach. They must gather 
it, or still perish with hunger. What God does for 



MANNA. 



61 



us in nature and grace, is not to keep us from 
effort, but to excite to it. 

2. Learn your daily dependence. What God 
gives is not to be hoarded, but to be used. Hence 
the prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread." 
What is not needed corrupts. It is true, both of 
common and gracious gifts, God gives only for 
use. When no good use is designed to be made of 
it, it is not to be expected. Beyond this, the gold 
corrupts, the garments become moth-eaten, and 
the rust of what is improperly stored becomes as 
a burning canker. The soul prospers by a daily 
expenditure of the grace it receives. 

3. But this bread was an image of better things 
to come. (John 6: 48 — 58.) 1. It was from heaven 
2. It came to the needy; 3. To the unworthy; 4. 
In great abundance; 5. With agreeable qualities, 
to suit the taste of every one that was hungry; 6. 
It was easily obtained by those wishing it; 7. It 
must be gathered and eaten to preserve life ; 8. It 
must be gathered at the time commanded, or it 
could not be obtained ; 9. The manner in which it 
was given, was an impressive lesson of obedience: so 
the faith that receives Christ obeys his commands; 
10. It was unlike the gospel food in this — That it 
did not keep from death always. He that eateth 
this shall never die. Unlike in the extent of 
the participation. They all partook, Now many 
refuse the Gospel and die. 



LECTURE VIII. 

ROCK AT REPHIDIM. 

" And the L ^rd said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and 
lake with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou 
srnotest the river, take in thine han<l, and go: Behold, I will stand 
before thee th re upon the rock in H >reb; and thou shait smite the 
rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may 
drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Is a>4." 

Exodus 17: 5 6. 

"And Moses lift up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock 
twice: and the water came out abundantly : and the congregation 
drank, and their beasts also." — Numbers 20: 11. 

Man is a compound of strange and opposite 
elements. This is true, both of the constitution 
of his nature, and of his moral manifestations. By 
one part of his nature, he bears a near affinity to 
the earth from which he originated, and to which 
he is constantly tending. By another part of his 
nature, he claims alliance with heaven, whence he 
came, and aspires to the engagements and dignified 
employments of exalted spirits. Through his mate- 
rial part, he is continually betraying his weakness, 
dependence, and mortality. Through his spiritual 
part, he shows evidence of a durable and exalted 
destiny. These two parts of his nature do not 
appear to be in harmony. By the one he is drawn 
to the earth, and led, with the inferior animals, to 
get his nourishment from the ground ; by the other 
he is led to share the intellectual food of angels. 
By the one part of his constitution, there is a per- 
petual effort to rie; by the other to keep him down. 
The fleshly appetites co-operate with the earthly 



ROCK AT REPHIDIM. 63 

nature, to degrade him; reason, and the moral feel- 
ings, unite with his spiritual part, to elevate him. 
Among these jarring elements, religion interposes a 
third power in aid of man's rational part, and con- 
tributes its influence to raise him from the sensual 
to the rational, from the rational to the spiritual, 
and from the spiritual to the heavenly. To aid 
the soul in this high and holy effort to regain its 
lost dignity, and reach that elevation for which it 
w r as destined, all nature is laid under contribution 
to stimulate us, and give us impressive lessons of 
instruction, and admonition. Our constantly re- 
turning bodily wants, our weakness and depend- 
ence, become the hand-maids of the highest 
wisdom. The recurrence of hunger and thirst, at 
every brief interval, teaches us our spiritual de- 
pendence, and the bountiful supply usually afforded 
by an indulgent Providence leads us to rely upon 
the plenitude of grace. The certainty of languor 
and death, ensuing upon the neglect of partaking of 
bodily nourishment, teaches the certainty of spirit- 
ual decline and death, upon the neglect of that nour- 
ishment which is suited to the soul. The care of 
God for the body, in -supplying its wants, even 
at the expense of miracles, leads us to rely with 
greater confidence on his care for the soul. If 
nature must change her established laws, rather 
than man be hungry or thirsty, may we not expect 
nature shall change her laws, rather than the soul 
should perish? If so much is done for man in his 
sinfulness in time, what may we not expect will 
be done for him in his perfection in eternity? 

I remarked in the previous lecture, that God often 
laid himself under an obligation to answer a demand, 
which his own arrangements had created. This 



64 



ROCK AT REPHIDIM. 



may be a peculiarity in the plans of God. The 
reason why we do not designedly embarrass the 
objects which we wish to accomplish, is a want of 
confidence in our ability to overcome the difficulty 
which we might interpose. Moses would not, of 
his own mind, have led the people to resting places 
where there was no food nor drink; because he was 
sensible he could not overcome the difficulty. But 
obstacles insurmountable by man, are nothing in 
the way of God; and it is in coming forth for the 
removal of difficulties, which to us is immovable, 
that he convinces, and impresses us with a sense of 
his being and perfections. In the every day ob- 
servance of a uniform Providence, we cease to 
observe the omnipotent power by which it is man- 
aged. In taking perpetually of the exhaustless 
store, we forget the hand which keeps it filled, and 
in drinking, so often as want returns, of the peren- 
nial stream of good, we cease to remember that it 
has its source in Divine benevolence. To remind 
us of these truths, so necessary to be felt, to teach 
us our dependence, and to regulate our gratitude, 
we are made to feel the pressure of want, and that 
when God comes to our help, the interposition may 
be seen and acknowledged. It is when the power 
and skill of Moses are at an end, that you hear of 
him going to God for direction and help. And it is 
for deliverance wrought, when human ability was 
exhausted, which tuned his harp most sweetly, 
saying, " The Lord's portion is his people. Jacob is 
the lot of his inheritance. He found him in a des- 
ert land in a waste, howling wilderness, he led him 
about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple 
ef his eye, as an eagle stirreth ip er nest, fluttereth 
over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh 



ROCK AT KEPHIDIM. 65 

them, beareth them on her wings; so the Lord 
alone did lead him, and there was no strange god 
with him. He made him ride on the high places 
of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the 
field, and he made him to suck honey out the rock, 
and oil out of the flinty rock." It was not oil, nor 
honey; but because it was seasonable, and they felt 
their need it was refreshing as oil, and sweet as 
honey. To the hungry soul every bitter thing is 
sweet, how much more that which is sweet in 
itself. But the full soul loatheth the honeycomb. 
So to the soul that feels its spiritual wants, and 
hungers, and thirsts for righteousness, the conso- 
lations of the Gospel are as cold water to one per- 
ishing with thirst. To such, the words of God are 
more precious than gold, sweeter than honey, even 
the honeycomb. 

This aspect of the economy of Providence, by 
which God causes, or permits, insurmountable 
obstacles to intervene, is seen in that mournful 
catastrophe by which our race sinned, and became 
alienated from the favor of God, and in that won- 
derful provision of mercy by which they may be 
restored. That God could have prevented this dis- 
astrous event, does not seem readily to admit of 
doubt. It has indeed been said, that the first sin 
could not have been prevented, without infringing 
upon man's free agency. But will it be said that 
God never prevents any moral agent from sin, or 
that if he does, he destroys his free agency? If so, 
free agency is only another name for independence, 
in the highest sense, even of God. And in this way 
conferring free agency, would be giving a divine 
attribute to the creature. To us, at least, it appears 
more easy to have prevented the introduction of 

5 



86 ROCK AT REPHIDIM. 

sin, than to counteract its influence, and remove its 
effects. If the first was a difficulty which could 
not be prevented, the last looks more like one that 
could not be removed. But God, in the economy 
of grace, has undertaken to remove its effects from 
all the candidates for glory; and the fact that he 
has undertaken it, gives strong presumption that it 
w r ill be accomplished. But though God did not 
cause this derangement of his moral creation, as he 
caused the tribes of Israel to go into a barren and 
parched desert, he suffered it to occur by a per- 
verted use of man's moral agency. Though he 
did not lead to it, as by the cloudy pillar to Horeb^ 
he foresaw its existence, with all its dire effects 
upon his fair creation, and in his counsels before 
time, made provision for a scheme of boundless 
wisdom, and wonderful adaptations, to meet the 
case. Though he might, for all that appears in the 
nature of the case, have controlled the circumstan- 
ces, and the wicked agent employed about the first 
sin, so that a happy, and holy race, might have 
passed their blessed probation here, and been taken 
then to a yet more happy w r orld. As he could 
have led the host of Israel the direct way to Ca- 
naan, without the depths of the Red Sea, and the 
famine of the desert; yet, where then would have 
been the display of the wisdom of God before prin- 
cipalities and powers, in heavenly places? How 
would have been seen so impressively the length 
and breadth of that love of God, which passeth 
knowledge? When the developments, and con- 
trolling influences of that wonderful economy of 
redemption, with which the entire history of the 
world is connected? Where the anthems of praise^ 
and the golden harps attuned to redeeming love in 



ROCK AT REPHIDIM. 67 

the upper temple, unto him that washed us in his 
own blood, and made us kings and priests unto God, 
to live and reign with him forever? Had this been 
the case, we might have been met to praise our 
God for preserving grace, but not for redeeming 
grace. Which would have been best for us, in the 
whole range of our unending existence, is not for 
us to examine; but to praise our redeeming God, 
that seeing we are in a wilderness, with famine 
and death before us, we are called to approach the 
smitten rock, and drink its exhilarating streams, to 
refresh us on our way to the better country. 

To assist our meditations, and animate our feel- 
ings, on a theme so interesting, we may be aided 
by a review of the scene at Rephidim, and Kadesh 
Meribah. 

The rock itself will lead you to the person of the 
Redeemer. 

The rock smitten, to the Savior in his sufferings. 
The rock emitting a refreshing and plentiful 
stream, to the effects of his wonderful death. 

1. That we are led by a proper way to a proper 
object of contemplation, when we are conducted 
by this wonderful roGk, to the more wonderful per- 
son of the Mediator, is inferred, in part, from the 
light Isaiah throws on our way, when he says, "a 
man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and 
a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a 
dry place ; as the shadow of a great rock in a weary 
land." And the apostle of the Gentiles conducts 
us, with certain steps, from the rock in Horeb, to 
the Man of Calvary, when he says, referring to 
this event, fc 'they did all drink the same spiritual 
drink: for they drank of that spiritual rock that 
followed them, and that rock was Christ It was 



68 



UOCK AT REPHIDIM. 



so, not really, but typically. It was spiritual, not 
by substance, but by signification; not by its 
quality, but by its use. As an emblem of the Sa- 
vior's person, it refers us to the strength, solidity, 
durability, support, shelter and shade, in him who is 
everlasting strength, to whom we may fly as a ref- 
uge, and on whom we may build as a foundation. 
No metaphor in the Bible, perhaps, is more frequent 
than this, illustrating the character and offices of 
the Redeemer. Though it is never used before this 
remarkable occurrence, it is soon after adopted by 
Moses in his dying song: "God is a rock; his way 
is perfect." With the same view the apostle says, 
"Other foundation can no man lay." And again it 
is contained in the Scripture: "I lay in Zion a 
chief corner-stone, elect, precious: and he that 
believeth on him shall not be confounded." In the 
constitution of his wonderful person, there is every- 
thing to give security and firmness. For "the child 
born, the Son given," is no other than the " Won- 
derful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting 
Father, The Prince of Peace." He who thought 
it not robbery to be equal with God, took upon him 
the form of a servant. The word, which was 
God, was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and his 
glory was seen as of the glory of the only begot- 
ten of the Father, full of grace and truth. But it 
is not Divinity in the abstract, which is the founda- 
tion of a sinner's hope. As it is expressed in verse: 

"Till God in human flesh I see, 

My thoughts no comfort find ; 
The holy, just, and sacred three 

Are terrors to my mind." 

It is not the rock m3rely 9 but the rock smitten, 
that affords refreshment. It h only when we 



ROCK AT REPHIDIM. 69 

esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted, 
that the refreshing water of life flows into our 
souls; only when we view him " wounded for our 
transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities," that 
we are healed by his stripes. It is after it pleased 
the Lord to bruise him, he sees the travail of his 
soul and is satisfied. It is because he poured out 
his soul unto death, and was numbered with the 
transgressors, and bare the sin of many, and made 
intercession for the transgressors, that a portion 
with the great is divided to him, and he divides the 
spoils with the strong. It was by being made per- 
fect through suffering, he became the author of 
eternal salvation to all that obey him. The rock 
was smitten with the rod of Moses, the type of the 
law ; so Christ was made under the law. It was 
by being made a curse for us, he redeemed us from 
the curse of the law. It was this subjection to the 
law, and substitution in the sinner's room, which 
was the bitter source of all his sorrows; which 
led him to say, See all ye that pass by, if there be 
any sorrow like unto my sorrow; which led him as 
a culprit to Pilate's bar — to the sufferings of the 
garden — to the hill of Calvary — to the excruciating 
sufferings of the ignominious cross — to mourn the 
hidings of his Father's countenance — to say it is 
finished. The rock was smitten in the presence 
of the elders of Israel, and amidst the tumults of 
the people. Christ suffered before the rulers of 
the nation, amidst the contemptuous cries of the 
multitude, in the most public place, and on the 
most public occasion. The rock was smitten by 
God's command; so it pleased the Lord to bruise 
him. Awake, O sword, against my fellow ; smite 
the shepherd. 



70 ROCK AT REPHIDIM. 

3. The issuing stream refers to the effects of his 
sufferings. 1. To his blood, which he says, is drink 
indeed, and pardon through it, the knowledge of 
which, to a guilty conscience, is as cold water to 
a thirsty soul. 2. The influences of the Spirit. 
These two great classes of thought were symbol- 
ized by the water and blood, which came from the 
Savior's pierced side. This fulfilled the promise. 
"I will pour water," &c. (Is. 44: 3.) It answers 
the invitation. "If any man thirst," &c. (Jno. 7: 
37_39 ; Is. 55: 1.) "And the Spirit and the bride 
say Come." (Rev. 22: 17.) 3. The stream secured 
their future supply. So the promised comforter 
was to abide. (Jno. 14: 16.) These are the streams 
David saw, (Ps. 46 : 4,) and John saw afterwards, 
(Rev. 22: 1,) and which the Savior commends, (Jno. 
4: 14.) 4. Their partaking may show you the office, 
and necessity of your faith: may urge all to partake 
now. There is a boundless territory before you, 
without a drop to cool your tongue. 



LECTURE IX. 

MT. SINAI, WHEN THE LAW WAS GIVEN. 

<i And it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there 
were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, 
and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud ; so that all the people 
that was in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the peo- 
ple out of the camp to meet with God ; and they stood at the nether 
part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, 
because the Lord descended upon it in fire : and the smoke thereof 
descended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked 
greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and 
waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by 
a voice. And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of 
the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; 
and Moses went up. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, 
charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, 
and many of them perish." — Exodus 19: 16 — 21. 

Every creature has what is termed the law of its 
being. According to this it acts, and conformity 
to this gives it its peculiar character. It is this 
which enables us to classify different things into 
their proper kinds, or species. Every thing is 
regraded as answering the end of its existence, 
when it conforms to the law of its being. In ma- 
terial nature, in both that which is organized with 
life, and that which is without, there appears to 
be a perfect conformity to the law of its being. 
The great masses of unconscious matter, which 
roll in immensity, obey exactly their prescribed 
rules, and when they depart from their long trav- 
eled path, it is in obedience to a new order, which 
they perfectly obey till it is countermanded. Vege- 
table and animal nature shew the same evidence of 



72 



MOUNT SINAI. 



docility. It is in intelligent nature only that 
we see a departure from this rule. It is in that 
class of creation only, which is capable of know- 
ing, that we find the exception. It is where we 
would have the most reason to expect complete 
conformity, that we find the least [evidence of it,. 
It is in that portion of creation where a want of 
conformity would be the most disastrous, that we 
discover the most proof of a want of it. It is with 
angels, the master-piece of creation in heaven, and 
with man, the most finished piece of God's workman- 
ship on earth, that departures from the law of well 
organized existence are most apparent. This may 
appear strange under the government of an Om- 
nipotent ruler, that the best part of his workman- 
ship should give the most evidence of defect; but 
if this be the fact in the case, it is more becoming 
in us to know, and admit it, than to speculate 
about the cause of it. And if we have any agency 
in producing, or continuing such a state of things., 
to humble ourselves in view of it, and to set our- 
selves to rectify it. Whatever may be the cause 
of our want of conformity to the law of our being, 
it might be presumed that the cause of our present 
irregularity was not, that there was no law given 
us at first. It might be presumed, that when there 
was law given to every thing else, from the great- 
est to the smallest, that man, who was at the head 
of all, should have a law ; and that as every thing 
beside had a law suitable to its nature, and to 
the office which it was to perform, that man also 
would have a law suitable to his nature and 
duties. And for the proof of this, we are not left 
to the information only which revelation brings 
us. We find the evidence of it by attending to 



MOUNT SINAI. 



73 



ourselves. We find that when we violate the law* 
of our physical constitution, it is followed by 
derangement and suffering. Intemperance produ- 
ces disease; profligacy leads to wretchedness. Vio- 
lating the law of our moral constitution produces 
distress, fear, and self-condemnation; conformity 
to it secures approbation and complacency. ^ A 
course of conduct which is called right, meets with 
approval from our own minds, and the favorable 
judgment of others; while the contrary procures 
the condemnation of both. Why this, if there is 
not a law stamped on our moral nature? II not, 
what is wrong would be as approvable as what is 
right. That there is such a law intimately con- 
nected with our very being, and not dependent on 
a written revelation of it, is proved by the fact, 
that it is universal; that it belongs to the portions 
of the race that are without the written law, alike 
with those who have it. The fact that approval, 
or disapproval, does not always relate to the same 
things, does not prove that there is no law, but 
only that the law does not operate in the same 
direction. The fact that a body is not drawn to 
another having less attractive power, does not 
prove that the law of gravitation does not belong 
to it; but, that it is drawn at all, proves that gravi- 
tation can be predicated of it. The fact that con- 
science, in certain circumstances, approves of what 
is wrong, does not prove there is no conscience, but 
only the strength of the wrong influence by which 
it is swayed. There is then a law, not only of our 
physical being, in common with all other material 
and organized existence, but also a law of our moral 
being. A conscience to decide upon our moral 
conduct, and give pleasure or pain, as we obey its 



74 MOUNT SINAI. 

dictates or not, is as natural to us, as that faculty 
of our minds by which we derive pleasurable or 
painful emotions, from the beautiful, or deformed 
objects of nature, or art. That it does not decide 
right, does not prove the want of the faculty, but 
the want of correct information. That it decides at 
all upon the morality of an action, is sufficient to 
prove its existence. Not right action, but action 
at all, is sufficient proof of the existence of any 
thing. A moral sense is necessary to make man a 
moral and accountable being, and the means of 
knowing his duty, and is necessary to make him 
guilty for not doing it. Man has always been 
accountable, therefore, he has always had a moral 
sense, and knowledge enough of his duty, to make 
him criminal in the neglect of it. But in his natu* 
ral and deranged condition, he has never been dis- 
posed to conform to the law of his moral nature. 
What of his duty he has known, he has been 
disposed to forget. His passions and inclinations, 
have been at war with his moral judgment. 
Though conscience has never abdicated the seat of 
judgment, or resigned her prerogative of pronounc- 
ng sentence upon the violator of her commands: 
yet, in the mutiny and anarchy of the passions, 
she is often, for a time, under arrest, and amid the 
clamor of the passions for indulgence, her voice is 
not heard; yet, at some time, she will speak so as 
to be heard, and make the offender tremble. It 
was not to make men moral beings, that this 
magnificent display was made at Sinai. They 
were so at their creation. It was not to give 
them a conscience, but to excite it to action: 
that, being sustained by the authority of God, 
more clearly revealed, she might be emboldened 



MOUNT SINAI. 75 

to condemn the offender; that man's moral rela- 
tions being more clearly seen, she might more 
easily arrive at certain conclusions. The dispensa- 
tion of Sinai was to revive, and impress anew, the 
law of nature, which was almost obliterated by an 
erring race. It was an effort to bring man back to 
the original law of his being. The ordinances of 
heaven and earth, as given to unintelligent matter, 
had stood firm to their original order. Man only 
needed reclaiming. For this purpose Sinai is 
selected; and Israel at its foot, and Moses on its 
summit, are the medium of communicating the 
newly promulgated law T to the world. The sub- 
limity of the scene, answered to the greatness of 
the object, and the preparation required of the 
people to both. When God is the speaker, who 
would not hear? When he utters his voice, who 
would not be afraid? But man, in his depravity, 
easily learns to overlook, and disregard the ordinary 
means by which God manifests his justice, and his 
grace. The character of God might be known, by 
tracing him in the ordinary pathway of his provi- 
dence. Our relation to him, and our duty, might 
be inferred by teachable minds, from the every-day 
lessons which are given us. But familiarity begets 
indifference, and we cease to recognize the pres- 
ence of that omnipotent energy which is continu- 
ally operating in and around us. Even the highest 
displays of his grace cease to effect us, when they 
are often repeated. Such is the strange influence 
of depravity upon the race, that the most effectual 
way to shut out God from our acknowledgments, 
is for him to pursue towards us the even tenor of 
his goodness. And to arrest attention, and break 
up the listlessness of such beings, some extraordi- 



76 MOUNT SINAI. 

nary, or miraculous display must be made. A war 
of the elements mast take place, nature must give 
signs of convulsions, before man will be aroused to 
believe that God is there. The last fifty days of 
Israel's history were replete with the interpositions 
of God. The wonders of the Red Sea, the waters 
of Marah, the miraculous diffusion of bread from 
heaven, and the plentiful flow of water from the 
rock, had all been crowded into this short period. 
The continual presence of God with them, was 
indicated by the wonderful pillar of cloud, and 
fire, which led their way; but with this they had 
already grown too familiar, to be awed into rever- 
ence by it. Now there must be a heaping together 
of the objects of terror and majesty, before the 
people will tremble at the presence of Jehovah. 
Now, at length the appointed day arrives in all its 
importance. Every creature, every element feels 
and gives witness to the appearance of its God. 
Heaven and earth, angels and men, air and fire, 
announce the presence of their great. Creator, and 
Ruler. The hoarse thunder is lost in the louder 
sound of the trumpet, and that awful sound in its 
turn, sinks into silence before the all commanding 
accents of the voice of God himselF. The thick 
darkness of a cloud, impregnated with the terrors 
of divine justice, at one moment threatens forever 
to extinguish hope and joy, and that darkness the 
next moment is dispelled by the more terrible 
flashes of celestial fire. Compared with this, how 
poor the pomp, and highest display of earthly prin- 
ces? Every object of sublimity, and astonishment, 
enters into this description, — Thunder, lightning, 
blackness of darkness, tempest, eaathquake, the 
trumpet of God: and all these are but the glim- 



MOUNT SINAI. 



77 



merings of majesty. God is in the thunder, the 
tempest, and the earthquake. It was then he came 
with ten thousand of his saints. He "maketh his 
angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire." It was 
then that the chariots of God were "twenty thou- 
sand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among 
them as in Sinai, in the holy place." It was then 
" the Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir 
unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and 
he came with ten thousand of his saints: from his 
right hand went a fiery law." "God came from 
Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. 
His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was 
full of his praise. And his brightness was as the 
light." The mountains saw him and trembled. 

The greatness of the object, justified the magnif- 
icence of the preparation, and the grandeur of the 
scene It was to give law to a nation, and through 
it to a world. The terrific aspect of the circum- 
stances, causing every beholder to tremble, and 
even Moses himself to "exceedingly fear and 
quake," was an emblem only of the more terrible 
justice of God, against those who refuse obedience 
to the law which was then uttered. 



REMARKS. 

In the midst of this terrific display of majesty, 
we discover not obscure glimpses of the Divine 
benevolence. 

1. In giving a law at all to Israel, and through 
them to the world. The posterity of Abraham is 
now become a great nation* But what are num- 
bers without government? and government is not 
a blessing without law. Happiness does not consist 
in possessions; but in being fitted to enjoy them* 



78 MOUNT SINAI. 

Israel has been delivered from bondage. They are 
on their way to possess the territory assigned 
them; but what would this avail them, without 
law and government? God, then, provides for all 
things. And what would the world be, with all 
its possessions of beauty and riches, without moral 
law to govern its inhabitants? It is bad enough as 
it is; without it, it would be intolerable. Com- 
plete conformity to it, would make this world a 
paradise; entire disregard of it, would make it a 
hell: as it is, with a mixed obedience, it is merely 
tolerable. How wicked, and how much an enemy, 
both to God and man, is he who dislikes the 
restraints of the law, and seeks opportunities to 
violate it. 

2. The goodness and mercy of God, are seen in 
this, that when he came to republish the law to an 
alienated world, he did not come in terrible majesty 
to execute it. Legislators do not pursue this course 
with their revolted subjects. When they have lost 
the knowledge of the law, by their own indiffer- 
ence, they do not stay the execution of justice for 
a second trial. His ways are always above our 
ways. 

3. We have reason for gratitude, that we are 
not placed, exclusively, under a dispensation sym- 
bolized by thunder, and darkness, and earthquake. 
That "ye are not come to the mount that might be 
touched, and that burned w r ith fire, nor unto black- 
ness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of 
a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice 
they that heard, entreated that the word should 
not be spoken to them any more. But ye are come 
unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living 
God, the heavenly Jerusalem," &c. 



MOUNT SINAI. 79 

4. The distance at which the people stood, and 
the terrible symbols accompanying its delivery^ 
teach us that our acceptance with God is not through 
the medium of law. Its holy strictness, and 
inflexible justice, forever exclude sinners from 
hope on the ground of our obedience. But by the 
aid of the Gospel, we see Sinai's fiery summit 
encircled by the rainbow of the covenant, and hear 
a voice louder than the thunderings, " The Lord God 9 
merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in 
goodness and truth; keeping mercy for thousands* 
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." 

Finally, if such were the appearances in the 
giving of the law, what will they be in the execu- 
tion of it upon incorrigible offenders. Not Sinai 
only, but the earth, and heavens, shall be shaken. 
Darkness shall not cover a solitary mountain only* 
but the son himself. The Son of God shall descend 
with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of 
God, 



LECTURE X. 

MOSES WITHOUT FOOD FORTY DAYS. 

And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the 
mount. And the giory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and 
a cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto 
Moses out of the midst of th* cloud. And the sight of the glory 
of the Lord, was like devouring fire on the top of the mount, in the 
eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of 
the cloud, and gat him up into the mount; and Moses was in the 
mount forty days and forty nights. — Exodus 24: 15 — 18. 

One criterion of the genuineness of a miracle is, 
that it has not been performed on a trivial occasion, 
or for an unimportant object. It would be difficult 
to believe, that God would counteract the established 
order of nature, without some object in view, worthy 
of such interposition. If there had been no other 
object in view, than merely to distinguish the one 
nation of the Jews, by peculiar national favors, 
however important that was to them, as a nation, 
it would seem hardly sufficient to justify that series 
of miracles, by which, the settlement of the nation 
was distinguished. 

We look, then, for a higher object, and a wider 
scope of design, in these wonderful transactions, 
than merely to bless one people. This design was 
to benefit the world. While the tribes of Israel 
were, in the sovereign pleasure of God, made the 
first receivers of the blessings, they were designed 
to be the channel of the communication of it, to all 
succeeding ages, and to every nation. For this 
purpose, it was not without design, that Palestine 
was selected as thsir permanent abode; situated as 



MOSES WITHOUT FOOD. 81 

it was, in the centre of Asia, it was aptly suited to 
exert an influence upon the inhabited world. And 
as an historical fact, it is true, that from this central 
point, the light of heavenly truth emanated to 
surrounding nations, like the heat and light of the 
sun, in the centre of the material system ; so that, 
perhaps, there is no nation on earth, which has not 
felt something of the beneficial influence. Not only 
from the nature of the case, must the religion of the 
Jews have been extensively reported among the 
surrounding nations, while they quietly abode in 
Canaan, but when they were taken captive into 
the great empire of Persia, they made the name of 
their God to be revered in a hundred and twenty- 
seven provinces. And it is also a remarkable fact, 
that the Messiah came of this people, whose ap- 
pearance was as the breaking forth of a new 
luminary upon a dark world ; and that it was the 
descendants also of those who trembled at the foot 
of Sinai, in view of the terrible aspects of majesty, 
in which God miraculously invested himself, that 
were the apostles of the New Dispensation, so that 
it was through Israel, that both the law and the 
Gospel were published to the world, and it was upon 
the proof afforded by the miraculous evidence, which 
accompanied these manifestations of God to Israel, 
that the authenticity of the whole of the communi- 
cation from God to man, is dependent. If it could 
be clearly shewn, that God never spake by Moses, 
it would be difficult to prove that he ever spake by 
Christ, or his apostles. The object to be promoted 
by these displays of Omnipotence, was so general 
and so grand, as fully to justify the means which 
were employed, to prove that God, himself, was the 
author of the communications which were made. 

6 



82 MOSES WITHOUT FOOD. 

In the last lecture, having considered the general 
object of that display of majesty, by which the 
moral law was promulgated, and the particular pur- 
pose for which, in so august a manner, it was given., 
we are here called to attend Moses a second time, 
to the flaming summit of this auspicious mountain, 
and witness his wonderful life in the cloud, another 
forty days without food, and to wait in silent expect- 
ation, for the communication which he will make on 
his return from so intimate a fellowship with God. 
After six days' display of majesty, which was 
calculated to inspire every beholder with reverence — * 
the glory of the Lord on the top of the Mount, 
being in the sight of all the people, like devouring 
fire. Moses, at the call of God, went into the midst 
of the cloud, and there abode forty days and nights. 
Here, not by audible communication, as the ten com- 
mandments were delivered, but in private conference 
with Moses, to be by him delivered to the people, 
God delivered those institutions of a r civil, polit- 
ical, and ecclesiastical nature, which regarded their 
social and national capacity, which, if properly 
studied and understood, will be found to contain the 
most just and comprehensive views of human nature; 
the most noble and liberal ideas of legislation ; the 
most perfect equality ; the profoundest sagacity ; and 
the most unbounded kindness and benevolence. 

The laws delivered to Moses, and by him to the 
people, have usually been distinguished into three 
classes: the Moral, embracing the ten command- 
ments; the Levitical, or Ceremonial, and the Judicial, 
The Moral, teaches us the relation we sustain to God, 
as Creator, Lawgiver, and Judge ; and the general 
duties mankind owe to one another. A correct view 
of this law, and of themselves, would soon teach 



MOSES WITHOUT FOOD. 83 

mankind that they are sinners, and cause them to 
tremble in view of its sanction; because they must 
be sensible they fail to render that obedience which 
it requires. Thus, in kindness to man, in his sinful 
and spiritually helpless condition, in connection with 
the announcement of the moral law, the Levitical 
was also made known. This embraced the Gospel, 
or taught the way in which those who violated the 
moral law, could be forgiven, and accepted. The 
tabernacle, with all its sacrifices and bloody offerings, 
was the New Testament Revelation in symbol and 
figure. The judicial law was the moral law detailed, 
so far as it had respect to relative duty, or it was 
the civil law of the nation. The moral law was for 
the world, in every age. The Levitical law was for 
the world till the Messiah came, and its spirit and 
import for the world to the end of time. The judi- 
cial law, except in the peculiarities by which it was 
adapted exclusively to the Jewish people, is a pattern 
for the imitation of other nations. Before the nation 
was settled in its inheritance, all these laws were to 
be given, in order that their national existence, 
might be a blessing to them. In order that they 
might be fitted for self-government, they were kept 
forty years in the wilderness, under a process of 
rigid tuition and discipline, before they were per- 
mitted to take possession of their national inherit- 
ance. It is not every community which desires the 
privilege that is fitted for self-government, or to 
whom their independence would prove a blessing 
After Israel obtained his freedom from the bondage 
of Egypt, the whole a.dult generation had to be de- 
tained in the passage from the one kind of govern- 
ment to the other, and a new generation raised up 
under a particular kind of training, before they 



84 MOSES WITHOUT FOOD. 

were fitted to make the new government a blessing, 
It is not even wise and wholsome civil institutions 
alone, which will make a nation prosperous and 
happy; but these, in connection with virtue and 
integrity in the rulers, and in the mass of the people. 
Hence, when God himself undertakes to make a 
prosperous nation, and distinguish it above all the 
nations of the earth, he first gives it the moral law, 
to make it moral; he then gives it the Levitical law, 
to make it pious ; he gives it political and ecclesias- 
tical law, that its moral and pious principles may be 
wisely guided, in the distribution of equal rights, 
and be taught the science of self-government. 

That God, by Moses, did unfold the elements of 
a system of church and state government, for the 
nation of the Jews, will be disputed, perhaps, by 
few, and if so, it might be expected to bear the 
marks of the infinite wisdom of its author, and have 
claims to be examined and understood by every 
nation, and men of every age. The fact, that God 
thought proper to make known the general princi- 
ples and particular details of a political and ecclesi- 
astical constitution for the nation, which he designed 
especially to bless, is at least presumptive evidence, 
that they were not qualified, of themselves, to frame 
such an one. And what was true of them in this 
respect, is doubtless true of all other nations. There 
is no good reason to suppose, that the Jews were 
distinguished for mental weakness, or want of civil- 
ization, above others, so as to make it necessary that 
a plan of government should be revealed to them, 
rather than to others. If it be the fact, that a plan 
of government was presented to the Jews, it is 
satisfactory evidence, that all men needed it; for, 
whatever was revealed to therr, was not only de- 



MOSES WITHOUT FOOD. 85 

signed for their benefit, but for the good of all; and 
it is not to be supposed, that God would make a 
particular revelation of that which we could suffi- 
ciently understand without it. We doubt not, that 
a revelation of the general principles of government 
was as necessary to man, in his state of depravity, 
in order that he might obtain the highest blessings 
of a citizen of the community, as the revelation of 
the plan of salvation, to his obtaining a competent 
knowledge of the way to be saved. We can spend 
our existence in the present world, without the 
knowledge of either the one or the other. But, for 
accomplishing the high end of our being in this 
world, both are necessary. When God would par- 
ticularly bless the nation of Israel, and through 
them, the world, he made known how to live, both 
in an individual and social capacity, in the state, and 
church, and also how to be saved. He taught man 
how to be a citizen on earth, that he might be a 
citizen in heaven. And a proof of the fact, that 
mankind are dependent on revelation for the know- 
ledge of good government, both in church and state. 
is the truth, that no nation, in the history of the 
world, has established a government of just and 
equitable rights, where the influence of revelation, 
has not been felt. To the conclusive proof of the 
same, is the fact, that just in proportion to the extent 
of the influence of revelation, and the incorporation 
of its principles with church and state constitutions, 
— carried out in the details of law — just in that 
proportion, it is found that communities are prosper- 
ous and happy. It might be an interesting inquiry. 
to ascertain what that particular form of government 
was, which Jehovah himself instituted. It may not 
be easy for us to know this in all its details, but its 



88 



MOSES WITHOUT FOOD. 



general form we can understand. The Hebrew na- 
tion, under the constitution which God gave it, was 
a Republic, governed by representatives of its 
own election. The twelve tribes were, in some 
respects, so many independent sovereignties, while, 
for other purposes, they formed into a consolidated 
government. Of these confederated states, there 
was a chief magistrate, or President; the first of 
which was Moses, who was succeeded by Joshua. 
The constitution and laws, were at first proposed by 
God, through Moses, to the elders, or representatives 
of the people, and were adopted by them, when they 
said with one voice, all the words which the Lord 
hath said, will we do. This adoption of their con- 
stitution, was repeated at the death of Moses, and 
by a statute ever afterwards, it was to be ratified by 
a national convention, every seven years. The 
election of their rulers, was upon republican princi- 
ples. Moses issues to'them a proclamation : Take ye 
wise men, and men of understanding, and known 
among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over 
you. That is, the people were to elect, and Moses 
to invest them with office. The power of their civil 
rulers was very limited. Office was not hereditary. 
Moses had not even a relative to succeed him. 

They had lower, and higher courts of appeal. For 
teaching religion, the education of the youth of the 
nation, and the expounding of the law, the tribe of 
Levi was devoted. When, through their pride, 
they would have a king, he was not a monarch in 
the modern sense. Saul, the first king, was chosen 
by acclamation; and even David, in the heighth of 
his power, felt that the popular influence of the 
government was beyond his control, when he ex- 
pressed this feeling : "Ye sons of Zeruiah, ye are too 



MOSES WITHOUT FOOD, 



87 



strong for me." The government of the church was 
of the same general nature. In that economy, they 
were not distinct, but mixed. The government was 
administered by those who were chosen for the pur- 
pose, called in civil phrase, senators, from their sup- 
posed age and wisdom ; in the church, called Presby- 
ters, or elders, for the same reason ; whence comes the 
name 'Presbyterian.' The forms of government most 
favored by the divine pattern, then, we conclude, are 
governments by election and representation, both in 
church and state. The extremes, opposite to this, 
and towards which man> in his folly, is always 
tending, are on the one hand, the concentration of 
power in one or a few hands, or, on the other, the 
exercise of it by the mass of the people. And to 
accomplish one or the other of these unworthy 
objects, the history of the world, has been a history 
of misery and blood. 

We may infer the following principles: 1. That 
government is a divine institution, (Rom. 13: 1.) 
2. That God is the supreme law-giver. 3. That 
they who rule under him, should be men fearing 
God, (Ex. 18:21; 2 Sam. 23 : 4.) 4. That no form 
of government will preserve the church, or state, 
without religious principle. Though Israel had a 
form of government given them by heaven, it could 
not preserve them, when they became irreligious; 
and for violating their constitution in this respect, 
they have been disorganized, and scattered among 
the nations these twenty-five hundred years. 
5. That we are indebted to the Bible, for whatever 
distinguishes us in political or church privileges, and 
their continuance depends upon the manner in 
which we respect the authority of God. 6. That 
the separation of religious principle from the ad- 



88 MOSES WITHOUT FOOD. 

ministration of government, is a certain forerunner 
of national misery and destruction. Moses, while 
receiving the law for the world, was happy forty 
days without food. But God will never work a 
miracle to make an individual or a nation prosperous 
and happy, while living in the allowed violation of 
those laws, 



LECTURE XI. 

THE FINISHED TABERNACLE OVERSHADOWED BY THE 
CLOUDY PILLAR. 

"Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the 
glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able 
to enter the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode 
thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And 
when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children 
of Israel went onward in all their journeys: bnt if the cloud were 
not taken up, then they journeyed not tiil the day it was taken 
up. For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day ? 
and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, 
throughout all their journey." — Exodus 40: 34 — 38. 

The manifestations of God to men, are not 
merely to inspire them with awe of his majesty, 
but to excite them to obedience; not only to pro- 
duce faith, but to lead to action. It is not suffi- 
cient that we tremble before him, but that w© obey 
his will. God displays his infinite perfections in the 
view of his creatures, not merely to afford them 
inactive enjoyment, but to induce them to seek 
their happiness in laborious services, or self-deny- 
ing duties. Moses was admitted to unprecedented 
familiarity with Jehovah in the mount for twice 
forty days; but it was not that he might recline 
upon friendship so condescendingly vouchsafed to 
him, and be exempted from future duty, but that he 
might more fully understand his duty, and be better 
qualified for its performance. While he was enjoy- 
ing the heavenly fellowship, God was prescribing 
the plan of his future labor, and that of the people, 



90 



THE FINISHED TABERNACLE. 



when he should descend again to the plain below, 
and mingle with men in the ordinary pursuits of 
life. We have no reason to suppose that exemp- 
tion from active service will be one of the privi- 
leges even of heaven. Even the angels are not 
idle, but serving spirits sent forth to do his will ; 
and the sublime appearances of Sinai were promo- 
ted by their presence. "The Lord was among 
them asjn Sinai, in the holy place-" The law was 
ordained by angels, in the hand of a Mediator. 

The extraordinary manner in which Moses had 
intercourse with God on the mount, was not to be 
the common w r ay in which he, or others were to 
have access to the object of their worship. But 
this was granted that a common mode might be 
fixed and perpetuated, by which not only the chiefs 
of the people, but all might have access to God; 
a way which did not forbid their approach, and 
which, divested of so much awful .grandeur and 
terrible justice, would invite, rather than terrify 
sinners to approach a God, at whose presence the 
hills trembled, and mountains smoked. For this 
purpose, God gave to Moses the form of that wor- 
ship, which was suited to those who had broken the 
law, and said to him, "See that thou make all 
things after the pattern shewn thee in the mount." 
Moses no sooner descends than he sets himself to 
the performance of his task. Not the thundering 
summit of Sinai was to be the emanating center of 
Divine communications, but the tabernacle in the 
midst of the surrounding tribes. This was to be 
reared, not by miraculous agency, but by the united 
effort of the whole people, for whose benefit it was 
intended. God works miracles to assure us that he 
speaks to us, and prescribes our duty, but not to do 



THE FINISHED TABERNACLE. 



91 



it for us. It is not to relieve man from obligation, 
but to increase it, that extraordinary interpositions 
are afforded. Human hands are to be employed 
to erect the holy tent, before the Shekinah will 
speak from above the cherubim ; and as man is not 
so likely to value what costs him nothing, all are to 
contribute to its erection. More than acquired 
skill is wanted for completing the pattern that God 
has given, and Bezaleel and Aholiab are supernat- 
urally endowed. Gold, silver, and other materials, 
are wanted for the structure; these are not to be 
furnished by miracle, but by liberality. Every one 
feels the importance of a medium of intercourse 
with God, of further light to guide the pathless 
journey, and of the forgiveness of sin. Labor and 
beneficence flow from willing hearts and hands, 
though they had no provision laid up for to-mor- 
row, till the people had to be stayed by a procla- 
mation, that there was enough. What a lesson of 
benevolence this, to those who have much goods 
laid up for many years, and are enriching upon 
their own inheritance, while the cry is issuing from 
the law and the Gospel, in ten thousand pensive 
voices, Give us the word of life; help us build a 
tabernacle in the wilderness, that we may worship 
our God. When all are willing and engaged, work 
is soon done. And why should we delay a work, 
the accomplishment of which insures a blessing? 
Why should we thus stand in the way of a good 
that is hastening to meet us? In about six months 
the sacred tent is finished, according to the inspired 
plan; and no sooner finished, than the wonderful 
cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord filled it 
A6 For the cloud of the Lord was upon the taberna- 
cle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the 



92 THE FINISHED TABERNACLE. 

sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their 
journey." 

To see the pattern showed him in the mount 
exactly copied, and the design of the great Jehovah 
perfectly fulfilled, must have filled the good man's 
mind with ineffable delight. And especially, if he 
looked through this shadow of good things to 
come, to the very image of the things, to Christ, 
who, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not 
made with hands, by his own blood entered into 
the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption 
for us. A joy similar to that which is experienced 
by every believer between the predictions concern- 
ing the Savior of the world, and their accomplish- 
ment; between the promises made unto the fathers, 
and the blessings enjoyed by their children. A 
prelude to that delight which will be experienced, 
when the perfect coincidence is discovered between 
the descriptions of future and heavenly glory, and 
the things described; between the exceeding great 
and precious promises of the Gospel, and the glo- 
rious realities of our Father's house, above. Some 
then, as now, may have limited their vision to the 
material appendages of the workmanship, and have 
satisfied themselves with the form, without the 
pow r er of godliness. But God then, as now, meant 
to lead their devotions farther; and from the outer, 
to conduct them, through the inner court, to the 
holiest of all. 

God's method of teaching religion was as a wise 
instructor w r ould teach the children of his school. 
He adapts the manner to the age and capacity. 
First, by pictures addressed to the eye, then by the 
ideas themselves. In the highest progress of the 
church on earth, she will not be so far advanced. 



THE FINISHED TABERNACLE. 



93 



as not to need any kind of elementary instruction. 
But some of the emblems are dropped and changed, 
as she advances. . It is in the celestial city alone, 
she will not need the sun any more by day, nor 
the moon by night. While our spirits are encom- 
passed in these gross, material tenements, matter 
must be made the medium of thought, and inter- 
course with the spiritual worl i. It is spirit only, 
that can commune with spirit, without a medium. 
Thus, the tabernacle for the time then present, was 
the Gospel oracle. On entering the enclosed space, 
or court, connected with this sacred tent, the first 
objects which presented themselves were, on the 
one hand, the altar of burnt offerings, and on the 
other, the laver for the priests to wash in. 

By this altar, it would seem no stretch of im- 
agination to suppose, that the great atonement, 
the means of pardon and acceptance with God, 
were shadowed forth. By the laver was signified 
the purity which becomes all those who would 
approach a pure and holy God. In their nearness, 
and union, they show what acquits the guilty, and 
fits them for communion with God, being justified 
freely by his grace, and sanctified by his spirit. An 
altar without a laver, would encourage the offen- 
der to continue in sin, because grace abounds. A 
laver without an altar, would be to inspire a vain 
confidence in an external and imperfect righteous- 
ness. In their union, they represent man's happi- 
est state— sin forgiven, and his nature renewed. 
Too often are they separated in men's conceptions 
of the way to be saved; and holiness has been 
sought at the altar, where it was not; and forgive- 
ness is sought in the laver, where it is not. The 
blood does not make holy, and the water does not 



94 THE FINISHED TABERNACtE. 

forgive sin. These were under the open heaven^ 
seen of all, accessible to all, and by this circum- 
stance, even then teaching the free and accessible 
nature of that salvation, which should be more 
fully unfolded under the gospel, bothjjfor sin and 
uncleanness. 

Through the court of the tabernacle we are 
conducted by the golden candlestick, with its seven 
burning lamps, the emblem of the Sun of righteous- 
ness, illuminating the Gospel day, and of the more 
unclouded radiance of heaven. By its light you 
perceive the table of shew-bread renewed every 
Sabbath day, the figure of that table which the wis- 
dom of the eternal Father has prepared with the 
bread which came down from heaven, to give life to 
the world, and of our Father's house above, where 
there is bread enough, and to spare. You see with 
wonder too, the High Priest of our profession, who 
has for us entered into the holy place, and by the 
golden altar, holding the golden censor, to whom 
much incense is given, that he should offer it, with 
the prayers of all saints, upon the golden altar> 
w r hich is before the throne. Separated from this, 
by a vail embroidered with cherubims, was the most 
holy place, into which the High Priest alone 
entered once a year. In this sacred chamber of 
the Deity, were reposited the most sacred symbols 
of the Divine presence. Here was the ark of the 
covenant, covered by the mercy seat, and over it 
the cherubims of glory, between which, Jehovah 
was said to dwell. Thus leading the view of faith 
to the great High Priest, who by his own blood 
hath entered into the holiest of all, and animating 
the hope which we have as an anchor of the soul, 
and which entereth into that within the vail, whither 



THE FINISHED TABERNACLE. &5 

the forerunner has for us entered, even Jesus, made 
an High Priest forever after the order of Melchiz- 
edek. 

Such were some of the holy uses of that structure 
which God so particularly described, and which 
Moses, and the people, so faithfully and cheerfully 
erected. It was a medium of approach to a holy 
God by sinful men. When it was finished, Jeho- 
vah gave evidence of his approbation, and of his 
presence to guide and bless those who approached 
him by this medium, by the hovering over it of that 
miraculous cloud, which had so strangely conducted 
them from the land of Egypt. 



REMARKS I 

This cloud may be regarded as a complication of 
miracles That its form was never changed. Noth- 
ing is more variable than the appearance of ordi- 
nary clouds. That it should always maintain its 
station over the tabernacle. Other clouds are car- 
ried about by the tempest. That it should be pre- 
served forty years. That it should move in such a 
peculiar direction. That contrary to the nature of 
all other clouds, it should be brighter by night than 
by day. 

Its uses may teach us what God is to those wh.< 
wait upon him, through the medium of the true 
tabernacle. 

1. It was their guide in the pathless desert. 

2. It was their guard that protected them. When 
their way was in the sea, and their path in the 
great waters, and their footsteps were not known, 
it led them like a flock, by the hand of Moses and 
Aaron. 

3. It was as a splendid lamp hung over their 



96 THE FINISHED TABERNACLE. 

encampment to supply the absence of the sun. 
An emblem of what the word of God is, a lamp to 
our feet, and a light to our way; and of what Jesus 
Christ is, as the !Sun of righteousness to the spiritual 
world. 

4. It was as a magnificent umbrella, to shade 
them in that torrid wilderness. Showing what 
Christ is to his people, as the shadow of a great 
rock in a weary land ; and by whom the promise is 
fulfilled, The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor 
the moon by night. 

5. It was their oracle. He spake unto them 
in the cloudy pillar. The cloud and tabernacle rested 
and moved together; shewing that if God will be 
such to us, it will be only by the medium and means 
of his appointment. If you expect God to be your 
guide, protector, defence, and instructor, you can 
realize him to be such, only when you approach 
him by the altar of sacrifice, and the purifying laver; 
and rely upon the intercession of the High Priest in 
the Holy of Holies. Happy is that people that is in 
such a case; yea " Happy is that people whose God 
is the Lord.' Happy art thou, O Israel; who is like 
unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of 
thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! 
and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; 
and thou shalt tread upon their high places. Who 
would not trust in thee, O thou most mighty? 
Who would not fear thee, thou king of saints? 
Trust ye in the Lord, forever trust." 



LECTURE XII. 



DESTRUCTION OF KORAH, AND THE SETTLEMENT OF THE 
MUTINY ABOUT THE CIVIL POWER. 

" And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these 
words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them : and 
the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their 
houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their 
goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive 
into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished 
from among the congregation. And all Israel that were round 
about them fled at the cry of them : for they said, Lest the earth 
swallow us up also."— Numbers 16 : 31 — 34. 

Every thing in nature and providence, is under 
government. The world of unconscious matter 
constantly feels the impress of a controlling influ- 
ence, guiding its movements, and fixing its destiny* 
The most insignificant particle, in the most distant 
part of the universe, cannot claim for itself inde- 
pendence. From the atom that flies in the sun- 
beam, to the sun himself, the moving centre of 
surrounding worlds, there is presented a system of 
universal influences, of superior and subordinate 
agencies, directing and subserving each other. 
What is true in the world of matter, is true also in 
the world of mind. From God the center and 
emanating fountain of intelligence, to the lowest 
and feeblest manifestation of mind, there are many 
grades of influence, and varieties of operative 
agency; but all are under government. With 
angels, a general name for a higher order of intel- 
ligence between God and man, is still associated 
the idea of government. There are principalities 



98 DESTRUCTION OF KORAH* 

and powers in the heavenly places. There are 
angels, and archangels. However high the station, 
or elevated the office, the highest is controlled by a 
higher, till you reach the Supreme controlling 
power of the universe. And independence is 
inscribed no where, but on the throne of God. In 
the great first cause, and creative energy alone, it 
exists underived, and unassailable. He only can say, 
I am, and beside me there is no God. He was 
before all things, and by him all things consist. 
He only would be the same, did all things else 
cease to be. This universal system of government 
not only necessarily exists among created things, 
from the fact, itself, that they are created, but is 
necessary also, for answering the high end of their 
being. Without it, confusion would be universal, 
and the wreck of nature the result. It is not only 
necessary to the existence of dependent beings, but 
to the happiness of all intelligent creatures. But 
necessary and connected with their happiness as it 
is, human nature does not instinctively submit to the 
powers that are over it. Even holy minds have 
not always manifested a becoming disposition in 
this respect. It seems to be intimated that this 
was the fault of the angels who kept not their first 
station, but aspired to a higher. And it is more 
than intimated, that this was the fault of the 
happy progenitors of our race. Dissatisfied with 
the control under which they were placed, and 
aspiring to be as gods, they lost that measure of 
independence which they had, and placed the race 
in a condition to be associated with the rebellious 
spirits of a higher order, in a state of abridged 
privileges, reserved in chains of darkness unte 
judgment. 



DESTRUCTION OF KORAH. 99 

To refuse the influence of wholesome law, is nat- 
ural to man. He gives evidence of this disposition 
among the earliest manifestations of his childhood. 
So strong is this propensity, that persuasion is 
often insufficient to lead to a proper acquiescence, 
and it can be produced only by compulsion. So 
strong is this natural propensity of our nature, in 
its depravity, that it not only often tramples on 
the authority of human superiors, but dares to 
brave the authority even of God; and with pre- 
sumptuous audacity asks, "Who is the Lord, that 
we should fear him, or the Almighty, that we 
should serve him." To reduce to obedience such 
unyielding spirits, is the great object of the won- 
derful mediation of the son of God, and the agency 
of the Eternal Spirit. And the authority of the 
lawgiver to this revolted world, is concentrated in 
the command, "Submit yourselves unto God." 
God is now in Christ, reconciling the world unto 
himself. The grand effect produced on the sub- 
jects of this gracious influence, is to make them 
obedient to the government of God. 

We have already noticed, that besides defining 
the duties arising out of the moral relations which 
man sustains to his Creator, a grand object of the 
dispensation of Sinai was to reveal a model of 
State and Church government for the world. But 
forming the Constitution is one thing, and carry- 
ing out its details, into practical execution, is dif- 
ferent, and often more difficult. The best minds 
are supposed to be consulted in originating the 
laws for the government; but in their operation, 
every variety of the uninformed mass is effected; 
and interest, and passion, and prejudice, have to be 
encountered. Moses, and the chiefs of the people, 



100 DESTRUCTION OF KORAH. 

received with reverence the laws which God sug- 
gested, and cheerfully promised obedience. But 
who can give a pledge for the continued compli- 
ance of a million of fickle minds, agitated by a few 
discontented and factious leaders. It was not 
enough to give them the form of government and 
laws, but it was also necessary to teach them obe- 
dience to them. Not only to give them officers, 
but to teach them to respect their authority. Mir- 
acles were not only necessary to authenticate the 
Divine authority of the law, but also to enforce 
obedience. The discipline which was required 
for this, was more severe than was needed to 
convince them that God spake to them by Moses. 
In the first case the mount quaked, and gave signs 
of convulsions on its summit, and they trembled at 
its base. In this, the earth opens beneath the feet 
of the offenders, and they sink into it. So difficult 
is it to induce men to believe when God speaks, or 
respect men w r hen they rule by the authority of 
God ; so difficult to make men fear the authority 
either of God or man. It is very common to be 
dissatisfied with the station in which God has 
placed us, and to envy others, who, in our view, 
occupy more favorable circumstances. God, how- 
ever, has called mankind to fill different stations in 
life. One is called of God to rule in church, or 
state, and another is as much called to fill a private 
place in society. One is as much called to submit, 
as the other is to govern. One is called to agricul- 
ture, or to a mechanical pursuit, as really as another 
is to preach the Gospel; and they are qualified 
by Providence for their respective employments. 
Moses is called to legislate, and conduct the tribes, 
lander law, to their happy settlement in the land of 



DESTRUCTION OF KORAH. 



101 



promise; Korah to obey the laws when they are 
made, and to serve as a son of Levi, at the altar, 
or in the schools of the young. But ambition is 
ever restless. It thinks there is nothing gained, 
while any thing remains to be possessed; that it 
has made no advances toward eminence, while 
any one stands higher upon the platform; that it 
attracts no notice, while more eyes are directed to 
another. To gain its wished for ascendency, a 
rival must be displaced, even at his sacrifice. It 
depreciates superior worth; it detracts from esti- 
mable character; it looks at virtuous and praise- 
worthy action, through the glass of jealousy. It 
magnifies its own worth, and proclaims its qualifica- 
tions. It holds out false promises, and says, "O, 
that I were made ruler in the land;" and with 
Korah, gathers around it a party, it may be of the 
lowest of the people, or it may be of the chief 
men, against existing order, the carrying into effect 
righteous rule, or against those by whom it is exer- 
cised, until the faction is ripe for its deeds of divis- 
ion, or death, unless God, by his particular provi- 
dence, interposes to disconcert the counsel of 
Ahithophel, creates a new thing in the earth, and 
marks the proceeding with the severity of his hot 
displeasure. And as here the sullen earth becomes 
obedient to a mandate of him whom the chiefs of 
the mutineers did not respect, and opened her 
mouth and swallowed them. Such indeed, sooner 
or later, will be the fate of all those who resist 
God's authority, properly administered. For they 
that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 

The mistake of Korah, and his associate conspi- 
rators, appears to have been, that they did not 
consider that God had any thing to do in the 



102 



DESTRUCTION OF KORAH* 



appointment of Moses and Aaron to the respon- 
sible offices which they held, and that themselves, 
or others had as good a right to exercise them as 
they. Hence their language, " Ye take too much 
upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy." 
How much of the same overlooking of the provi- 
dence of God in the ordination of government, and 
the designation of particular persons to administer 
it, now characterizes the population of our country? 
both in church and state? If the legislation, or 
execution of law, does not suit the views or preju- 
dices of some, resort is had at once to efforts to 
depreciate the character of those in authority, 
from the unworthy motive, as it would seem, that 
by taking away from the worth of character of 
those in power, they may, in the same degree, 
bring into disrepute their official acts. Thus it is. 
that to speak evil of dignitaries has become almost 
our mother tongue. An office, however venera- 
ble by age, or worthily sustained, falling under 
the frown of a disaffected party, becomes the 
play thing of the grocery, and the cant of the 
school-boy. 

For the reason too. that the authority of God is 
aot recognized in government, it is that the noble 
engine of the Press is so often made as a great 
winding acqueduct, to convey to every remote 
hamlet, the malignant poison of personal illwill, and 
often of slanderous misrepresentation of personal 
character. 

If we regarded the officers in church or state, as 
God's ministers, attending continually upon this 
very thing, according to heaven's designation of 
them; if we would give honor to whom honor is 
due, and fear to whom fear, we would never fall 



DESTRUCTION OF KORAH. 103 

iato these sins and abuses. If it be said that men 
sustaining office are often unworthy of respect, 
admitting the truth of this, I reply, that in an elec- 
tive government, they are such as the people make 
them. And if they do not magnify their office, it 
is generally because they were unfit for the station 
before they obtained it, therefore, they are not to 
blame for a breach of trust, if they carry out the 
same character afterwards, which they had before. 
But at least, an office which God has appointed 
should not be cast into contempt on account of the 
unworthiness of its incumbent An individual 
being very anxious for a place of distinction, and 
magnifying the justness of his claims, gives no 
very good evidences of his fitness. Moses was 
very reluctant to undertake the service to which 
God called him, and it was after he could excuse 
himself no more, that he accepted the appointment. 
Korah seems ready of his own mind to undertake 
the difficult service. God prospers the one, and 
confounds the other. It is very natural for man to 
desire the high places of power and influence ; but 
a mind rightly exercised will consider, that respon- 
sibility increases with the influence; and as man- 
kind are, elevation too often only makes the 
successful aspirant a more open mark for the shafts 
of envy and ill will. But business undertaken from 
a sense of duty, and conducted with a conscience 
void of offence, will be supports to fortitude amidst 
the opposing influences with which we may have 
to contend. If Moses had consulted his personal 
happiness alone, perhaps he would have remained 
in his shepherd's life, upon the mountains of Midia, 
and waved the crook, instead of the rod of God. 
What is there more intolerable to human feelings, 



104 DESTRUCTION OF KORAH. 

and more trying to pious patience, than to be 
continually blamed by those to whose good we are 
devoted, and for whose happiness we labor. This 
was the reward Moses had from an ungrateful peo- 
ple, and the same that many a faithful servant of 
God has had since. It is well for such, that the 
next world is not like this. But God often appears 
for the vindication of his servants here. Korah, 
and the two hundred chiefs, sink into the cleaving 
earth, or are consumed by fire, while Moses and 
Aaron are established in the authority. But, how 
difficult it is to silence complainers. This signal 
punishment from heaven, is made a new ground of 
quarrel with Moses, and he is blamed with killing 
the men whom the Lord killed by miracle, and to 
humble them, fourteen thousand more have to be 
killed by plague. Nor is this exhibition of human 
nature peculiar to that people or time. Who are 
always blamed when, on account of sin, calam- 
ity comes upon the church, or state? The leaders 
especially^ and they are blamed according to the 
elevation of their station. 



REMARKS. 

1. That God has established an order of the 
ministry in the church. That it does not belong 
in common to the whole people. That it is not 
assumed of one's own mind at pleasure. The sons 
Eliab aimed at this office without being called, and 
were buried alive, and their companions consumed 
by fire from the Lord, and their censers were to be 
made into plates to cover the altar, to be a sign 
ever after to others, not to invade an office which- 
God had forbidden. 

% That sin which brings a punishment taathers* 



DESTRUCTION OF KORAH. 105 

should be useful to observers. 1. As a confirmation 
of our faith. 2. As an excitement to zeal. 3. As 
a warning to ourselves. 

We see in this case, that God regards the order 
of his law, more than he does the order of all the 
material universe beside — that he will preserve that 
order, if nature should fall 



LECTURE XIII. 
aaron's rod with blossoms and fruit. 

* And it came to pass, that on the morrow, Moses went into the 
tabernacle of witness; and, behold the rod of Aaron for the house 
of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blos- 
soms, and yielded almonds. And Moses brought out all the rods 
from before the Lord unto all the children of Israel: and they 
looked, and took every man his rod. And the Lord said unto Mo- 
ses, Bring Aaron's rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a 
token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their 
murmuring from me, that they die not." — Numbers 16: 8 — 10. 

Enough had been done, as it would seem, to 
silence the rebellious spirit of the people, and 
reconcile them to the authority of Moses and Aa- 
ron. Korah, and those that were with him, had 
sunk into the open earth; a miraculous fire had 
flamed from the altar and consumed the two hun- 
dred and fifty chief men that offered incense ; four- 
teen thousand and seven hundred had become the 
sudden victims of the plague, and were dead among 
their tents. These events had struck the survivors 
with awe. But it was seen that there was yet a 
secret lurking of disaffection, that would show itself 
when the impression of these calamities was a little 
removed. Though, as it would seem, they were 
satisfied that Moses was properly invested with the 
authority which he claimed; perhaps also, that the 
tribe of Levi was divinely selected to officiate about 
the things of the altar; yet they were disposed to 
inquire, why should Aaron, above all his fellows, 
have the honor of the high priesthood put upon 
him, and perpetuated to his first born son, through 



AARON'S ROD. 107 

successive generations. This, they might think, 
looked like monopolizing distinctions, and perpet- 
uating offices, without respect to worth, and might 
be imagined to proceed from the partiality of Moses, 
to his brother, and his posterity, rather than from 
the will of God. To settle this arrangement by 
undoubted evidence, to satisfy the people that it was 
not the doing of Moses, but of God, and to prevent 
murmuring and mutiny in future, resort is had to an 
expedient, which should ever after settle this dispute. 
This was to be, not a miracle of judgment, but of 
mercy; addressed not to their fears, but to their 
judgment. For this purpose, the rod of Moses, at 
the motion of which, desolation and death had 
wasted Egypt, and sunk the pride of her military 
power in the Red Sea; and which, as it would seem, 
had now passed into the hands of Aaron, was to be 
the instrument. This staff, which had been employ- 
ed so often miraculously, to attest the authority of 
Moses as the lawgiver to Israel, and king in Jeshurun, 
is now also to be employed to establish the ecclesias- 
tical office, as it had been the civil. For the trial of 
right to the sacred office among the descendants of 
the twelve sons ol Jacob, the heads of the chief 
families of the tribes are to deposit their staves in 
the tabernacle for the night, and the family of him 
whose rod should vegetate with new life, and bud, 
and blossom, as under a vernal shower, and bring 
forth ripe fruit before the coming day, as under an 
autumn sun, should be preferred as the family 
whom God designed. The proposal is accepted, 
each one, no doubt, hoping to succeed. But pro- 
motion cometh not by chance; but God, who set- 
eth up one and casteth down another, superintends 
this trial. And on the following day, when the 



108 aaron's rod. 

rods are brought forth for inspection, they all 
remained as before, except that of Aaron, which > 
though it had dried forty years since it was 
taken from the mountains of Midian, budded, and 
bloomed, and bore almonds. This was strange 
enough, that it should vegetate at all, and as strange 
that it should have all these upon it at once. The 
works of God are great, and sought out of all them 
that have pleasure therein. He does nothing for the 
display of power merely, or to excite the gaze of 
astonished beholders. While all his w r orks produce 
these effects on those who examine them they are 
intended for other remote and beneficial effects. 
Especially does he not interpose his miraculous 
agency above the law T s of nature, without an 
object worthy of such interference. We therefore 
naturally ask, what was there on this occasion, and 
in this event, to justify its occurrence? There was, 
no doubt, more in its import than we can discover, 
or are able to present. But we think we see it, 
intimately connected with the four following things, 
any one of which is of sufficient importance to 
show the wisdom and goodness of God, in this 
exercise of power. In general, its object was to 
establish in the world the authority of the sacred 
office, as of divine appointment. This was impor- 
tant to the interests of man. 

First, as a member of civil society : 

The wisdom of God is seen in the legislation 
of Moses; not only in wise enactments of a 
civil nature, and the settlement of civil offices, as 
necessary for a prosperous and happy government, 
but in connecting with this, a perpetual arrange- 
ment for the religious instruction of the nation. 
The necessity of this connection has not always 



aaron's rod. 109 

been regarded by subsequent politicians. In a 
government partaking so much of the nature of a 
republic as the Israelitish theocracy did, it is pecu- 
liarly important that religious instruction, and 
christian principle, should pervade all classes of the 
community. In a government where the will of 
the sovereign is the law of the land, the subjects 
may be governed with much less of intelligence 
and moral principle, than where the controlling 
influence of the state is in the mass of the people. 
The character of every government will be molded 
by the character of those holding the power. If 
they be without principle, so will it. The effect 
will always be of the nature of its cause ; the 
stream will not rise higher than the fountain. 
Government is an effect; it cannot, therefore, be 
expected to be better in its provisions, or in its 
administration, than those who frame it, or carry it 
into execution. Without principle, a government 
ean be administered only by force. But if the 
forcing power is itself unwilling to act, laws how- 
ever good, must fail to be executed. In a republic, 
the compelling power is the people; hence, it is 
easy to see that a dereliction of principle here, 
necessarily prostrates at once the best of govern- 
ments; and practically makes null and void the 
best laws of the statute book. Instances of this 
kind daily occur in our own country. Good laws 
lie inoperative from year to year, because their 
execution is unpopular. This state of things will 
always continue to increase with the growing diffi- 
eiency of correct moral principle, until the laws 
themselves will be changed to suit the corrupt 
irreligious feelings. Efforts of this kind are not 
wanting already in our brief history. The restraints 



110 

of the Lord's day have been disrelished by the pleas- 
ure-seeking, and the avaricious; and the Sabbath 
law has been changed by the highest authority of 
the nation, to suit these unholy feelings, so that the 
work of the government's agents may be done in 
every part of the land on holy time, without crime 
in the view of the law. The instruction of the 
Bible is not liked in certain quarters, and efforts are 
being made to exclude it by law, from the schools 
of the young. But the omniscience of God per- 
fectly foresaw this tendency of depravity, and that 
a nation could not be prosperous with the best civil 
regulations, without religious principle to sustain 
them; therefore, when he would bless a nation by 
giving it a constitution, by revelation; when he 
would present a model of government for the imi- 
tation of surrounding nations, and the world, he 
establishes an order of religious instructions, as 
well as of civil rulers. He not only makes laws 
with corporeal penalties, but provides the means 
for diffusing, into every part of the nation, that 
religious education which would produce that love 
of wholesome law and obedience; which would 
lead to order, and render the infliction of the pen- 
alty unnecessary. The people then, as now, 
seemed more willing to admit the civil rule, than 
the religious restraint. They were more ready to 
take Moses for their ruler, than Aaron for their 
priest. Hence, an additional miracle had to be 
wrought on this last point. And the almond staff 
must blossom and bear fruit, to satisfy them that the 
offices of religion were as necessary to their nation- 
al prosperity, as were the offices of government. 
The fact, that religious principle is necessary to 
originate a government of equal rights, and preserve 



aaron's rod. Ill 

it, is proved by the history of nations. Wherever 
the Bible is unknown, there despotism reigns. A 
priesthood, it is true, there is, every where in 
heathenism, bat not such a priesthood as God 
wrought miracles to establish. They teach the peo- 
ple, not the truths which God revealed, but the 
follies of superstition. The effect is, to keep the 
people in ignorance, rather than to give them know- 
ledge of the truth. Hence, the influence of a 
corrupted priesthood has ever been the suppression 
of human right, and the firm support of tyranny. 
But, the sacred office, used for the purposes for 
which it was authenticated by heaven, and inculca- 
ting the truths which God has revealed for the 
instruction of mankind, has always been the firm 
supports of equitable and righteous laws. Under 
its influence, the old establishments of despotism 
crumble and fall, and a happier order of things 
spring up and flourish, as in a fruitful and cultiva- 
ted garden. 

Efforts have often been made by nations not suffi- 
ciently imbued with religious principle, to gain their 
freedom, but they have been unsuccessful; or if for 
a time they have accomplished their object, they 
have soon fallen into the gulf of anarchy, or into 
the arms of a military despotism. France broke the 
neck of kings, and guillotined the priesthood to wor- 
ship at the shrine of freedom ; but because religion 
was abandoned, she was soon glad to save her 
expiring life, by throwing herself upon the protection 
of a king. The South American States have heard 
the report, of liberty, and have struggled hard to 
gain it; but Romanism has too much shut up the 
avenues of Bible knowledge, and excluded teachers 
on God's plan of instruction, and they have failed, 



112 



AARON'S ROD. 



To this part of the continent, where it is our lot to 
dwell, our ancestors, the best instructed in religious 
truth, of the population of Europe, fled for a refuge. 
They brought with them the holy truths they had 
imbibed with the breath of their infancy, and their 
religious instructors, to teach them further in the 
heavenly doctrine. Here they planted the tree of 
independence, in the soil of Bible truth, and nour- 
ished it with their prayers. Here it has grown to 
be a great tree; its wide-spreading branches holding 
out its ripe fruit to distant nations, and its vernal 
blossoms attracting the admiration of distant climes. 
But, take away its soil, withdraw its nourishment, 
and no political maneuvering can make it live. As 
then, the belief and practice of religious truth and 
duty, are inseparable from national prosperity, and 
as it cannot be believed and done, without being 
known, and impressed upon the common mind; and 
as this will not be sufficiently done, without those 
whose office it is to do it, so the almond rod bloomed 
to affix heaven's high seal to an office which God 
had designed should make the nations bud and blos- 
som as the rose. We have viewed the event, and 
the subject in one— and perhaps its least observed 
relations — and here we see it vested with impor- 
tance. We have been looking at it, in reference to 
man's civil relations; let us now, 

Secondly, view it with reference to his ecclesias- 
tical relations: 

As we emerge from our civil, to our spiritual 
relations, it grows in interest. As we leave those 
concerns which are temporal, and approach those 
which are spiritual, we open our eyes upon a wider 
field of vision; while we step over the line of the 
kingdoms which are merely of this world, and which 



AARONS's ROD, 113 

will all soon come to naught, and enter the precints 
of that which shall never be moved, and which will 
be of growing importance, ever onward in eternity. 
The business of the original priesthood, was to make 
atonement for the people, to intercede for them, 
instruct them, and bless them in the name of the 
Lord; a part of this still belongs to the teaching 
office, according to the Savior's perpetual ordination, 
"Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to 
every creature, baptizing them in the name," &c. 
The existence of the church then, depends upon 
her divinely appointed officers. Whatever of beauty 
there is in Zion, the glory of the land; whatever 
of delight in frequenting her solemn assemblies; 
whatever of pleasure in drinking of the river, the 
"streams of which make glad the city of God;" 
whatever of joy in going to the house of God, in 
company where our best friends, our kindred 
dwell; whatever of hope to mingle in the songs of 
the upper temple, with the general assembly, and 
church of the first born, we are indebted for it all 
to the fact, that God has established the office of 
teachers in sacred things, and given to it, the seal 
of his approbation — that those who were originally 
dead rods, have, by grace, been made to bud, and 
bear fruit, and hold it forth to others. "I have 
chosen you, and ordained you," said Christ, "that 
you should go forth, and bear fruit." But, 

Thirdly, a higher object in this miraculous event, 
was in reference to the Savior himself. 

The office of the high priest doubtless had an impor- 
tant reference to him. The establishment of that 
priesthood, had a relation to the establishment of his. 
Both were proved by miracles. What the Levitical 
priest did typically, Christ did really, in making 



114 

atonement. What he did in intercession, by virtue 
of the typical sacrifice, Christ did by virtue of his 
own. If the typical priest and offering had not 
been proved beyond dispute to be of God's appoint- 
ment, there would have been a breach in the proof, 
that Christ was the sent of God, and had a right to 
his high pretensions. The apostle Paul would have 
wanted the great body of his argument, which he 
has brought forth with such master power in the 
epistle to the Hebrews, to prove to the Jews, and 
Gentiles, that he was the Christ. Let us then, sit 
down by this blooming rod, and gather fruit for 
eternal life. While we view it, 

Fourthly, as connected with our salvation. 

1. As connected with the proof of atonement 
for sin. 

2. With the Savior's intercession with God. 

3. With the application of the Savior's work to 
us, as blossoms are attractive, and fruit is for use, 

4. As indicating that there will be a succession 
in the holy office, of those who will hold forth the 
word of life, and exhibit the mature fruit of holi- 
ness, to be plucked by every succeeding generation 
of sinners, to the end of time. 

The staff had not only full grown almonds, 
but also blossoms and buds for a future supply, 
when those which were ripe had fallen off. So the 
prayer which the Savior has taught to be offered 
to the Lord of the harvest, will be made and 
answered, that he would send more laborers into 
the harvest. From the stem of Jesse, and the* 
branch grown from his root, shall continually 
spring forth inferior boughs, whose fruit will be for 
the healing of the nations, till all the ransomed of 
the Lord shall come to mount Zion with joy, to eat 



aaron's rod. 115 

of the fruit of the tree of life in the midst of the 
paradise above. 



REMARKS. 

1. We may learn the great responsibility which is 
attached to the office of the Gospel ministry. As 
we see, its influence is intimately connected, not 
only with the well-being of the church, but of the 
state — -with f man in his dearest earthly interests, 
and his spiritual and-eternal welfare. Let us guard 
against exalting this office above the place where 
God has put it, or degrading it below it. On one 
of these extremes Popery erects itself as a hideous 
monster, on the other libertinism, and infidelity, 
brood in hideous deformity. 

2. Remember the value, and improve the privi- 
leges God has so kindly and bountifully bestowed. 



LECTURE XIV. 

HEALIN© BY THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

" And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red 
sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was 
much discouraged because of the way. And the people spake 
against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up 
©ut of Egypt, to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, nei- 
ther is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 
And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit 
the people ; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people 
came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken 
against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take 
away the serpents from us. And Most-s prayed for the people. 
And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set 
it upon a pole : and it shall come to pass, that every one that is 
bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a 
serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole : and it came to pass, that 
if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of 
brass, he lived." — Numbers 21: 4 — 9 

In order to natural vision, two things are neces- 
sary, the organ of sight, and sufficient light, with 
an adaptation between them* Were the eyes of 
our race as perfect as they are, without the light of 
the sun, nature would spread out her adorning, and 
invite us to behold her beauties in vain; and did the 
orb of day pour forth his beams in a flood of light, 
©n a world where there w-as no organ fitted to 
receive it, so far as intelligent observation is con- 
cerned, it would be a profuse waste of his radiance. 
We here see, as every where else in nature, a 
delightful fitness of things. So it is in the economy 
©f grace. There is need, not only for an organ of 
spiritual virion, but a medium of sight, and light to 
display the objects to be seen. The eagerness te 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 117 

make discoveries in a region of total darkness,, does 
not bring to view the unseen objects, or alleviate the 
case. On the other hand, the increase of light will 
not make things visible to the blind, or even tend to 
do it. Two things, then, were necessary to make 
the spiritual world visible to the men of our race: 
a sufficiency of light, and a spiritual organ, so con- 
structed as to see. Man, in his fallen state, is des- 
titute of both of these. The world by wisdom 
knew not God. As the sun is unseen, except by ths 
shining of his rays; so the "natural man receiv- 
eth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they 
are foolishness unto him: neither can he know 
them, because they are spiritually discerned." The 
scheme of mercy provides for both these wants, 
This is the peculiar glory of the device. Some? 
indeed, conceive of it, and represent it, as if light 
only was necessary to be afforded in sufficient 
amount, and jnan's depravity would yield to its 
influence. But what can light effect upon sightless 
eyes? And such is man spiritually. He is repre- 
sented, not only as blind, but even dead in tress- 
passes and sins. Salvation is summarily embraced. 
in these two things: The unfolding of spiritual 
ohjects, and producing and improving the faculties 
of perception and feeling. In the proper order of 
things, the objects to be seen, and the light by 
which they are to be discovered, should precede the 
percipient beings; so it was in nature at first. 
The world was filled with visible objects, and the 
sun majestically placed in the heavens to shine 
upon them, before man, the intelligent observer, was 
made to observe them; so the light of salvation 
now goes before our natural being, and urges 
itself upon our natural attention, among the first 



118 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 



objects of perception. So it is, too, with reference 
to our new creation : the light is first, for we are 
begotten by the word of truth ; and our walking as 
children is in the light, not before it : "now are ye 
light in the Lord, walk as children of the light." 
And the advancing path to heaven is one of light, 
increasing more and more unto the perfect day, 
and with this increase of the medium of vision, 
there is an increase of the organ of vision, until 
both are perfected in the full displays of a world 
of light. 

The manner in which God unfolded the know- 
ledge of a Savior to the world, bears a resemblance 
to that in which the objects of faith are more 
clearly discovered to the individual christian, in his 
advancement in holiness. This revelation has its 
morning twilight, as well as its meridian bright- 
ness. The object of infinite wisdom in giving the 
morning dawn, is to give also the noonday clear- 
ness ; but in not giving it at once, in all its radi- 
ance, the capacity of the visual organ has been 
regarded. By its gradual approach, the eye is 
better fitted to endure it, and profit by it. Too 
much light, suddenly imparted, would make us 
blind. And the spiritual organ does not increase 
faster than the light. This is true in every individ- 
ual case. It is true as a matter of experience. 
The blind man whom Christ restored, first saw 
men as trees walking, before he saw them as they 
were. The reason of this was not for want of 
sufficient light upon the objects, but it was owing 
to the remaining defect in the organ. The reason 
of such defective views of truth and duty now, 
among even the pious, is not the fault of the rev- 
elation, but of the perceiving sense; though this 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 



119 



may improve, the light will be still in advance of 
it. And this whioh is true here, will be so also in 
heaven. Though the light by which the Savior 
was revealed to the faith of the Jewish church was 
obscure, compared with that in which we rejoice, 
yet, it was more than they comprehended, from the 
imperfection of their faith. He who now lives 
under the noon of the Gospel day, and whose spir- 
itual faculties have matured with the strength of 
the abundant light, can look with an open and full 
sight, at the objects which were then seen dimly 
through an image; but even to him, there are 
objects still beyond — a shadow of which affords to 
him all the knowledge which he has. But, as he 
advances, what appeared to him once as a land of 
visions, becomes peopled with reality and life. So 
to eternity, doubtless, the prospect will widen to 
the view of the redeemed, and as it widens will be 
tilled with new objects of admiration and delight. 
It may appear to us surprising to find Israel here, 
In the fortieth year from their deliverance out of 
Egypt, where we saw them the first month of their 
journey, by the Red sea; and even then, under the 
conduct of their heavenly guide, taking a compass 
round the whole land of Edom. But we may be 
even more surprised to find them, after so long a 
period of severe discipline, shewing the same stub- 
bornness and discontent which they showed at the 
beginning. We expect some progress to be made, 
under the influence of favored means, in the course 
of revolving years. But, alas! we need not go to 
the Jews for the evidence of an ingratitude which 
admits of no excuse; a stupidity which no intelli- 
gence can account for: a rashness which no reason 
:au explain. We need not travel into the deserts 



120 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

of Arabia — to the days of the golden calf — to th& 
waters of Meribah — to find proofs of the same 
spirit. We have have only to look into our own 
hearts, and lives, to be satisfied that the same spirit 
exists, with such offensiveness, as to afford us 
good reason to abhor ourselves, and repent in dust 
and ashes. 

We are too little aware of the evil of discontent, 
We do not reflect that it is to arraign the wisdom 
and goodness of God, and tends only to increase 
the evil under which we complain. Under the 
influence of this feeling, the wonders God had 
done for them, the deliverance from Egypt, the 
miraculous stream that followed them, the manna 
from heaven, must all be accounted as nothing, 
when a present inconvenience is suffered. God 
sometimes leaves this evil affection to punish itself ; 
but in this instance he was provoked to add a 
heavy, external chastisement. "And the Lord sent 
fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the 
people; and much people of Israel died." We ar$ 
not to suppose that these serpents were produced 
for f the occasion, but were there in abundance 
before, and the miracle rather appears in restrain- 
ing them so many years, so that they did not 
injure them before. We are not so likely to notice 
the blessings we receive in the way of prevention 
of evil, as in its removal. We do not realize that 
we are all the time surrounded with objects which 
need only a commission to make our life intolera- 
ble. The air we breathe, the food we eat, by a 
slight derangement, may be turned into bitterness 
and death. He can arm a fly with force sufficient 
for our destruction. The scorpions of the wilder- 
ness would soon have proved too strong for the host* 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 121 

of Israel, had not the Lord who, for their humiliation 
permitted them thus to be afflicted, provided for 
them a remedy. The manner by which this w r as 
done, marks the peculiarity by which God governs 
the world, and enables us to check, or overcome the 
evils by which we are surrounded. He does not 
destroy the serpents, or drive them into another 
part of the desert. This would have effectually 
removed the danger, and rendered the provision of 
a cure unnecessary. But they are allowed to 
remain, and exert their destructive influence; and 
another way is provided to counteract it. Such is 
the general economy of God's government, both 
in the physical and moral world. He who holds 
all things under his control, could have prevented 
the causes of natural evil, but he has not done it; 
and we are left to oppose the natural sufferings of 
our nature by the employment of our skill and 
industry, in applying those antidotes which are 
provided in nature. The serpent is not des- 
troyed, but we are pointed to a cure. God might 
lay an interdict upon the old serpent, the foe of 
man's spiritual nature, or have restrained his influ- 
ence at the first, so that he would not have pois- 
oned the race with the malignity of sin, and 
wasted it with its deadly effects; but his proceed- 
ing has been otherwise: and our attention is 
directed to the Savior of the world as the perfect 
remedy for the existing evil. To prefigure this v 
was doubtless one object of these occurrences. 
Many particulars of the Jewish history, and econ- 
omy had an interest which extended far beyond 
the present time. The best commentary on this 
piece of history is by the Savior himself, in his 
conversation with the Jewish ruler, (John 3,) "As 



122 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 



Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness," &c\ 
Here a striking resemblance is presented, between 
the elevation of the brazen serpent, and that of 
Christ on the cross, and the benign effects, in each 
case, to the suffering, and the dying. Though Mo- 
ses, in what he did in raising the brazen serpent in 
view of the Israelitish camp, may not have seen 
the whole import of his action; and like the 
prophets when they foretold the sufferings of Christ, 
and the glory that should follow, did not under- 
stand the import of their own predictions, or what 
manner of time was signified by them ; yet he was 
teaching the world the all important truth of the 
Savior's sacrifice, and presenting in action, what 
the Savior did in words, when he said, "And I, if I 
be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." This 
was a morning ray, of which his sacrifice was the 
noonday — a shadowy representation, by an effect 
upon the bodies of men by beholding a material sub- 
stance, of what faith does to the soul, by beholding 
a crucified Redeemer. Let us look at some of the 
points of resemblance, and be further instructed in 
a truth so fundamental to our hopes, and which, as 
christians, we bind so near our hearts. 

First, It was the folly and sin of the murmuring 
Israelites, which exposed them to the ravages of 
these scorpions of the wilderness; so it was by 
hearkening to the deceive?* at first, and by cherish- 
ing sin now, and tampering with its illusions, that 
our souls wither under its paralyzing effects, and 
are liable to death eternal. The effect of the ser- 
pent of the wilderness upon the natural life was 
certain death, if not counteracted by the healing 
effect of God's appointed remedy ; so the fiery 
darts of the wicked will burn up the sinner's spirit, 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 



unless they are quenched by the blood of atonement, 
and the washing of regeneration. 

Second, There was no natural efficacy in the 
image of the serpent to effect the cure. It was 
owing to God's appointment, that it proved effectual. 
The availableness of Christ's sacrifice for a guilty 
world does not depend merely upon the fact that 
he died, however great the display of love which 
he made in that extraordinary death, but upon the 
appointment of the Father to that service, and the 
arrangement to accept of the sacrifice in the room 
of the guilty. "God so loved the world, that he 
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believ- 
eth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting 
life." The salvation is connected with the gift of 
God for that purpose. It is the will of the Father, 
that whosoever seeth the Son, and believeth in 
him, "should not perish, but have everlasting life;" 
and this "gives it efficacy. 

Third, It was a method of cure that might be 
easily put in practice by the dying Israelite. It 
was only to look from every part of the camp and 
live; so the command of the Gospel is, Look unto 
me, all ye ends of the earth, and be saved. 

Fourth, It was effectual in every case — none 
died who looked to the remedy; so of the Gospel 
remedy: we are assured that he is able to save to 
the uttermost, all that come to God by him, and he 
that believeth on him shall never be put to shame. 

Fifth, It had to be looked to, that the benefit be 
received. There must be a correspondence between 
the will of God in the appointment, and the will of 
the sufferer in receiving it. He might object, that 
he could see no good it would do to look at the 
lifeless image. It was impossible for him to know 



124 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

the good, till he had made the experiment. The 
looking was first, but he had only to hesitate, to die; 
so it is with you, if you do not look to a crucified 
Savior. Look and live. 

This method of cure did not encourage those 
once bitten, to put themselves in the way of these 
serpents to be bitten again. It did not make them 
love them. Shall we continue in sin that grace 
may abound? It was a remedy that could be fre- 
quently repeated. The remedy did not depend 
upon the strength of the eyesight. The cure was 
not promoted by the patient looking within at him- 
self, at the progress of the cure. It was the only 
cure. The efficacy was not in the look, but in God's 
appointment and blessing. 



LECTURE XV. 

BALAAM REBUKED. 

And the Lord opened the mouth of (he ass, and she said unto Balaam^ 
what have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three 
times 1 And Balaam said unto the ass, because thou hast mocked 
me; I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill 
thee. And the ass said unto Balaam, am not I thine ass, upois 
which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine, unto this day l was I 
ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, nay. Then the Lord 
opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord 
standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand ; and he 
bowed down hishead,and fell flat on his face.-N umbers 22: 28-31. 

Things in nature, which, in themselves are most 
wonderful, by their frequency, soon cease to excite 
©ur surprise. That the sun should maintain his daily 
course in the heavens; that the vegetable kingdom 
should go on in its annual progress of growth and 
maturity, of decline and death, and again of resusci- 
tated life ; that the functions of animal life should con- 
tinue the flow of health amidst so many contingen- 
ees, and yet fail to excite our admiration, is only be- 
cause they are the objects of continual notice. Again, 
what is more wonderful than the gift of speech to 
man — that mysterious art, by which the workings 
of the immaterial mind are made audible and intel- 
ligent, and the most tender and delicate feelings of 
the soul communicated to other hearts, to strike 
the cords in unison, and bring into play with it the 
corresponding sympathy? Strange that an organi- 
zation of clay can be fitted into such a perfect and 
enduring instrument, as ever to move at the bidding 
©f the mind, to make its secret movements knowa 



126 



BALAAM REBUKED. 



to a listening world without. But every creature is 
what God makes it, who in wisdom has made all his 
works, and whose ways are past finding out. Though 
man at his creation was furnished with articulate 
organs, there is reason to believe he would not have 
known how to use them for the purpose intended, 
without supernatural teaching. And thus the 
science of language owes its origin to God, as well 
as the instrument by which it is used. Had Adam 
even known that certain sounds could communicate 
thought, and certain movements of the tongue 
would give another the idea of a material or imma- 
terial thing — created as he was, in manhood — he 
could not at once, according to the ordinary laws 
of using the organs of speech, have used them to 
express the ideas of his mind. Two difficulties are 
to be overcome in articulate speech. One is, to 
learn the sounds which are applied by common con- 
sent to certain ideas. This requires time, and par- 
ticular attention, and engages the first years of 
childhood. The other is, the learning to use the 
articulate organs, so as to express these sounds. 
Such is the insuperable nature of these two difficul- 
ties, that it is doubted whether, if man had been 
left without superior assistance, he would ever have 
overcome them. But the art being communicated 
to the parents of the race, all their children have learn- 
ed it. This gift has been withheld from the inferior 
creation, except to a very limited extent, in which 
the lower animals can express their wants by certain 
inarticulate sounds. Hence, what is common and 
easy to us, in them becomes miraculous. They are 
deficient in mental endowments to understand the 
various ideas to which the sounds of language are 
applied, and also in the physical organs necessary 



BALAAM REBUKED. 



127 



for articulate speech. But, the uniform laws of 
nature, being nothing else than the regular 
operation of divine agency, God, when he chooses, 
for sufficient reasons, can as easily act above these 
laws, as he can by them. When it is proper that 
the madness of a prophet should be rebuked, the 
dumb ass can speak with man's voice, as easily as 
the prophet, whose office it is to admonish others. 

Thus, all nature shews obedience to the will of 
its great author; and God, who is seen supreme as 
Creator, is also seen supreme as the Ruler of his 
workmanship; and nature, and time, and earth, and 
skies proclaim their author, God. But when we 
hear the animal, on which the son of Bosor rides ? 
as the legate of kings, speak to give counsel to its 
honored rider, we seek for an object worthy of such 
a departure from customary rules. What jvas there 
then, in the character and present pursuit of Balaam, 
to justify such an interposition, and what general 
instruction is it designed to afford to the world? 
This distinguished personage of the east, is described 
to us by his parentage ; by his country ; by his pro- 
fession, and present business. The place of his 
residence was in the country where Abraham him- 
self was born, and lived till his seventy-fifth year. 
The adjacent country, to a great distance, being a 
plain, it was favorable for the observation of the 
heavenly bodies, the science of astronomy was early 
cultivated there. Out of this, grew the pretended 
science of astrology, or the supposed power of fore- 
telling future events, from the position and influence 
of the stars. Little knowledge is usually connected 
with pride and presumption. In this case, it arro- 
gated to itself the power of controling these great 
luminaries; and ignorance, superstition, and credulity 



128 BALAAM REBUKED. 

easily admitted the insolent claim, and resorted to it. 
This appears to have been the profession of Balaam, 
and it was probably to this skill and power, that 
Balak had recourse for assistance against Israel. 
The king of Moab, alarmed at the war-like appear- 
ance of the host of Israel, and their recent success, 
diffident of his strength, either to repel invasion, or 
make the attack, enters into an alliance with the peo- 
ple of Midian, where Moses himself had lived, for his 
defence. But still doubtful of the strength of their 
united arms, they agree to have recourse to divina- 
tion in aid of the sword, and think of conquering 
by the power of enchantment, those whom they 
were afraid to encounter in the field. For this 
purpose they sent a joint embassy to Balaam, the 
most noted of the art within their reach, saying, 
14 Come i*ow therefore, I pray thee, and curse me 
this people, for they are too mighty for me." Ba- 
laam's vanity could not well avoid being uplifted 
by such a message. His covetousness also must be 
gratified, when princely presents are poured at his 
feet, as the reward of divination. His heart seems 
to be won from the first moment, and all that fol- 
lows is a struggle between inclination and con- 
science, in which the former at length gains the 
victory. He receives the messengers with great 
kindness: for even the most avaricious can be lib- 
eral when he expects to make greater gain by it. 
A camel loaded with the riches of Canaan, can 
easily find accommodations for its master in the 
house of one as nigardly even as Laban, when he 
is looking for years of profitable service, without 
giving a compensation. 

The answer of God to Balaam, at the first, was 
elear and unequivocal, "Thou shalt not go with 



BALAAM REBUKED. 129 

them." But the clear decisions of duty are often 
insufficient to silence the claims of interest, and 
inclination, combining their arguments against it. 
Plausible pretexts are invented to silence the voice 
of authority, and conscience is cheated into a truce 
with the passions, when gain is expected by the 
sacrifice of her rights. Balaam's equivocal answer 
to the messengers stimulates the hope of their 
master, that he may yet become subservient to 
his purpose, by further importunity, and richer 
rewards. When an individual tampers with tempt- 
ation, against the plain dictates of duty, he is 
likely to surrender the fortress to his assailant, and 
become an easy prey to his seducer. God himself, 
his authority being once disregarded, seems to 
withhold restraint, and permit the sinner to go in 
his chosen way, with less obstruction. This with- 
drawal of restraint, and apparent prosperity in a 
forbidden course, he easily construes into approval 
of the way he has taken, because he wishes 
to have it so. But present success in a wrong 
course, however shielded by plausible reasons, is 
no security that God will never meet such an one 
in anger, and hedge up his way, that he can pro- 
ceed no further. A seeming permission of Provi- 
dence to run in a way on which we are forbidden 
to enter, does not prove that we were mistaken in 
our judgment of the duty in the outset; but if 
conscience has been conquered in the beginning, 
the more certain conclusion should be, that God 
has given us up to our own ways, to walk in our 
own delusions, to fill up the cup of iniquity, that 
wrath may come upon us to the uttermost. 

Balaam, subduing his first convictions, proceeds 
with the messengers a certain length without 

9 



ISO BALAAM REBUKED. 

interruption, till the animal on which he rode turned 
out of the way into the field. But what was this 
little incident to a man whose soul was full of the 
ardor of a favorite pursuit. Providential hindran- 
ces, he might easily reason, may be expected in 
the most laudable pursuit, and happen alike to the 
evil and the good. The voice of God uttered 
clearly at the beginning, and disregarded, is not 
likely to be better attended to when it is heard 
only through the fainter echoes of his providence. 
He who refuses obedience to the plainer injunctions 
of duty, is not likely to be reclaimed by obscurer hints. 
He who refuses not to enter upon a wrong course, 
requires a stronger force to stop him, after he has 
acquired a momentum by progress. The stone in 
its progress down a declivity, is easier stopped at 
the top, than any where else till it reaches the bot- 
tom. A weight that may be poised by the finger 
at one time, at another becomes resistless; and 
though the opposing obstacles should be increased^ 
the power to be opposed increases more. Hence, 
the easy solution of many a headlong sinner's impet- 
uous, and downward course. God instead of oppo- 
sing stronger resistance, usually opposes weaker. 
And if vanquished conscience still chides in her 
captivity, the ear is deafer, and the passions more 
insatiable, and the escape of him, who has begun 
to yield, more hopeless. Balaam sees the erring of 
the ass, but not his own, He chastises it, without 
reflecting that it is he himself deserves it. He sees 
the providential difficulty, but he does not see the 
angel and the drawn sword which occasion it. 
How often is this illustrated in every day experi- 
ence of ordinary occurrences, both in the prosper- 
ous and adverse events of life. The incident is seen* 



BALAAM REBUKED. 131 

but the God who makes it is unseen. The stupid 
animal sees the cause, while the intelligent, but 
more stupid rider, looks only at the effect. It 
sees the sword overhanging the life of its master ; 
he beats it with his staff because it will not go on ? 
and drive him against its unsheathed point. But 
he who shuts his eyes against the light, and is bent 
upon his own gratification, is permitted to proceed 
till a worse evil befalls him. He who is too blind 
to see the angel of mercy, and the sword of justice 
before him, is allowed to advance, and feel a dan- 
ger which he will not see; and the pressure of his 
foot against the wall of the vineyards may teach 
him more than he was willing to learn in the open 
field. But "bray a fool in a mortar among wheat 
with a pestal, yet will not his foolishness depart from 
him." He concludes, perhaps, because it is his foot, 
and not his head, it was merely an accident, and 
the ass is the cause, and a severer correction will 
give her caution. As the sinner is determined, the 
obstructing &ngel recedes, for further trial, and pla- 
ces himself where he must be met, and recognized. 
The transgressor is sometimes permitted to go on 
into a narrow place — God hedges up his way so as 
to make himself to be seen in the providence. The 
rebellious spirit may rave against the circumstances, 
as the ox unaccustomed to the yoke, but the fetters 
which confine him are too strong for him to break, 
till he is forced to hear the rod, and him that 
appointed it. When every effort to get onward is 
useless, the speechless incidents speak, the Lord 
opens the eyes of the blinded offender, and shows 
himself as the cause of the present and former 
difficulties; he falls before his Maker, and confesses 
his sins. But confessing, and forsaking, are not 



132 BALAAM REBUKED. 

always connected. Pharaoh said, " I have sinned." 
> Ahab humbled himself, and put on sackcloth. Ju- 
das said, "I have betrayed innocent blood." Ba- 
laam said, "I have sinned, and went on with the 
princes of Balak." He had heard God say, " Thou 
shalt not go with them" — he had been turned 
out of the way — he had been pressed against the 
wall — he had heard the dumb ass speak with man's 
voice, forbidding his madness — he had seen the 
drawn sword of the angel, and heard his voice con- 
vincing him of sin; yet his sinful inclinations were 
stronger than all, and he went on to his reward, 
and his ruin. 



REMARKS. 

This solitary instance of a beast of burden 
speaking with the voice and intelligence of a 
man, was designed not only to rebuke the mad- 
ness of this prophet, but the madness of a world. 
It is the voice of God through the organs of the 
inferior race, against man, its lord by creation. 

First. Against man in his selfishness. 

Balaam to aggrandize himself, would have cursed 
and destroyed all the hosts of the Lord, and over- 
turned all the goodly tents of Jacob. This self- 
ishness has been styled the universal form of human 
depravity, and every sin is only a modification of it. 
It would subordinate God, and his creation, to itself. 
Were it not that this principle works its own 
correction often, society would break up in all its 
forms, and the earth become a battle field. 

Second. In his covetousness, one particular form 
ef selfishness, which includes, 1. Rapacity, which 
is covetousness grasping, 2. Parsimony, which is 



BALAAM REBUKED. 



133 



covetousness parting with its life blood. 3. Ava- 
rice, which is covetousness hoarding. 

The reward of unrighteousness was full in the 
eye and heart of Balaam, and it vailed his sight, so 
that God was unseen. Conscience was hushed to 
silence, the angel and the sword were noticed as 
nothing, before the eager rush of his passions to 
grasp their object; so still with the eye fixed only 
on mammon, the grave and hell itself are as 
motes in the sunbeam. To this worldly-wise fru- 
gality, a shilling is worth more than the onward 
progress of Israel to the land of promise; and for 
a dollar it will curse the church, or suffer her to be 
a reproach among the nations from age to age. 

Third. In his stupidity. The dumb ass reproaches 
him. 

"The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his 
master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people 
doth not consider. Go to the ant, thou sluggard; 
consider hfcr ways, and be wise." Man in the 
assumption of his lofty dignity, never looks more 
humbled than when an ass becomes his preceptor. 

"The brutes obey their God, 

And bow their necks to men ; 
But we more base, more brutish things, 

Reject his easy reign." 

Fourth. In the progress of his sinfulness. 

The commencement of a sinful course, is "as 
the letting out of waters." It increases impetu- 
ously. Balaam hearkened to the messengers. He 
proceeded against the will of God, which he knew. 
He despised reproof, and at last died a disgraceful 
death, with the princes of Midian, mutual helpers 
in crime. If you would die the death of the right- 



134 BALAAM REBUKED. 

ecus, you must live his life. Balaam desired the 
one, and refused the other. He failed of his desire, 
and died as he had lived. Seek most what he 
neglected, and you shall live, 



LECTURE XVL 

PASSAGE OF JORDAN* 

"And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the 
iteet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the 
water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of har- 
vest,) that the waters which came down from above stood and rose 
np upon an heap very far from the ciry Adam, that is beside Zare- 
tan : and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even 
the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over 
right against Jericho. An 1 the priests that bare the ark of the 
covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of 
Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all 
ihe people were passed clean over Jordan." — Joshua 3: 15 — 18. 

As time advances, new events are perpetually 
occurring, and hastening on to some greater con- 
summation* In the view of omniscience, and under 
the government of God, no event is solitary and 
unconnected; but each is a part of a great scheme 
of providence, for effecting some grand result. 

This portion of Hebrew history introduces us 
into a new era, and one to which all the previous 
events, both ordinary and miraculous, in the his- 
tory of this wonderful people, have been tending, 
and preparing the way. The deliverance from 
Egypt, the wonders of the Red sea, and the tedi- 
ous meanderings of the wilderness, would all have 
been unmeaning, if the obtaining of the promised 
inheritance had not been in prospect. Now the 
forty years of painful delay, the penalty of their 
sinful murmurings, is nearly expired, and they have 
approached the confines of their long looked for 
dwelling place. They are encamped on the east- 



136 PASSAGE OF JORDAN. 

era bank of the Jordan, and looking over upon its 
beautiful plains, awaiting the orders of their Su- 
jireme Director. Though difficulties have beset 
them all the way, and but a step is between them 
and Canaan's land, that step is one of danger, such 
as they know not how to take. A step, not upon 
the ground, the place of walking safely, but upon 
the water, where there is no standing. Such is 
human life. However long it is preserved, how- 
ever many the difficulties through which we have 
passed, however many the interpositions of a kind 
Providence in our behalf, we never get beyond the 
prospect of new trial, or the need of heavenly 
assistance, so long as we abide in this tabernacle. 
The better country is the object of hope, and 
not of possession. The last step of the christian 
sojourner, w r hich separates between the country 
of his pilgrimage, and his permanent home, is 
as unknown as any before, until the ark of the 
covenant goes before, and marks the place of his 
footsteps. 

But in the event before us, we hear no more of 
Moses, who has conducted us so often through the 
events of miraculous history, and given so much 
interest to the story. We seem to look round 
with anxiety, and inquire in surprise, Where is he 
who achieved the deliverance of the tribes, and 
conducted them through so many dangers and tri- 
umphs? who so long bore the weight of public 
affairs, and managed them with so much honor and 
success? We ask with grief, almost approaching 
to murmur, against the providence which arrested 
his progress, and blighted his sanguine hopes, just at 
the threshhold of realizing them — hopes cherished 
by eighty years anxiety, and forty years successful 



PASSAGE OF JORDAN. 137 

progress toward the desirable consummation. But 
such was not the will of God; and Moses had 
cheerfully transferred his commission, and yielded 
up his life on the top of mount Nebo, with his last 
look enlivened by the beauties of the land of prom- 
ise, and his dying faith invigorated with the assu- 
rance, that Israel should be put into the possession, 
and that therefore his labor had not been in vain. 
As we would naturally suppose, he had been very 
desirous to accomplish w r hat he had with so much 
self-denial undertaken, and brought so near a happy 
termination. For this he had earnestly prayed once 
and again. But in this he was not heard; and the 
rod which had divided the Red sea was to be laid 
aside before the crossing of Jordan, and the voice 
that there exhorted the host to go forward, was to 
be silent in death. Though his private and public 
life was distinguished by excellencies, surpassed 
only by that greater prophet that was to be raised 
up like unto him; though -distinguished for meek- 
ness above all others ; yet he offended once, in speak- 
ing unadvisedly with his lips, at the waters of strile : 
for this, the honor of conducting Israel into Canaan 
was conferred upon another. Moses offended on 
the strongest side of his character. If the strong- 
est proves his weakness where he is strongest, what 
will those do whose strongest virtues are not equal 
to his weakest? We see "an end of all perfection, 
but thy commandment is exceeding broad. If thou, 
Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall 
stand? Surely all the glory of man is as the 
flower of the grass." Though Moses dies; the 
church lives — though her endeared officers fall; her 
Supreme Head survives — though the rod, with 
its ripe fruit and vernal blossoms, is to be laid up 



138 



PASSAGE OF JORDAN. 



in the tabernacle; the ark will go on, and mark the 
pathway across the waters — and, though a Moses 
dies; a Joshua will take his place, as the leader of 
the Lord's host. What one sees by faith, as cer- 
tainly to come to pass; another will see with his eyes, 
and effect with his hands, till all the ransomed of 
the Lord shall come to mount Zion, with songs, 
and everlasting joy upon their heads. The wastes 
of death are supplied by the productions of grace ; 
and the falling of the trees of the hand's planting, 
is supplied by the willows by the water courses. 
God will not want instruments, when he has work 
to be done. But if the dying faith of Moses anti- 
cipates with eonfidence the triumph of the people, 
with whose prosperity he had been identified in 
life, and in death, he does not expect this without 
rational means, and proper human instruments; 
and like the parent of an endeared household, he 
adjusts every proper arrangement before he dies ; 
and, by divine direction, designates his successor in 
the chief magistracy of the nation. Who so fit as 
Joshua, who had been trained for a length of time 
to the public service, as his chief minister? This 
nomination the people confirmed by a popular vote, 
saying, "According as we hearkened to Moses in 
all things, so will we hearken unto thee : only the 
Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses." 
As God had been with Moses by miraculous agency, 
confirming his authority and proving his mission, 
inspiring the people with confidence and making 
their obedience reasonable; so the Lord was about 
to magnify Joshua in the sight of all Israel, that 
they might fear him, as they had feared Moses all 
the days of his life. For this purpose, a man for 
every tribe was to be selected, and the priests bear- 



PASSAGE OF JORDAN. 139 

nig the ark were to approach the edge of the water. 
This being done, the Lord would do what followed. 
And '-the waters which came down from above 
stood and rose up upon an heap," and those which 
came down toward the sea failed, and the people 
passed over right against Jericho. This miracle 
was remarkable for occurring at the time at which 
it did. The ordinary width of Jordan is variously 
stated, but from the best account not supposed to 
exceed thirty yards, with a depth of about three 
feet. But at the time of harvest, which was the 
time they passed, it overflows all its banks. 

The plain of Jericho, says Buckingham, is six or 
seven miles in width. Near the river the plain 
sinks; the distance across this lower space is about 
a mile. Over the whole of this lower plain the 
river overflows, by the melting of the snows upon 
mount Lebanon. This we may suppose to have 
been filled at this time, with a rapid current, to the 
width of a mile. This torrent, as by an impassable 
wall, was suddenly stopped in its natural course 
to the Dead sea, made to stand upright, and run 
back towards its source in the mountains, while 
that which was below went on according to the 
common law. It is a useful, as well as beautiful 
provision of nature, that the earth is so constructed 
that the streams should have their sources in eleva- 
tions, and the water should be subject to the com- 
mon law of gravity, as to seek to fill up the lower 
places. Were this simple tendency universally 
counteracted, and the water flow any way, as 
readily as the way it does, the w r hole earth w r ould 
be an offensive marsh, and become unfit for the 
habitation of man or beast. So much are w T e 
indebted for a comfortable existence, to the regular 



140 PASSAGE OF JORDAN. 

operations of the most common and unobserved 
rules, according to which Divine agency governs 
material nature. It is as easy for God to make the 
water of the earth to run upward, as the way it 
does; but because it is best for the happiness of the 
races, he gives it its present inclination. And 
because a more important end could be answered 
by causing the Jordan to roll back toward its 
source, it was done. God wills it, and nature 
obeys. But God does not will to counteract natu- 
ral laws, except for moral and spiritual purposes, 
The spiritual creation is more valuable than the 
physical. When the good of the moral requires it, 
the physical must yield. The whole fabric of cre- 
ation was made as a theatre for moral displays; 
when these have all been exhibited, the physical 
creation will be removed, as the scaffolding of a 
great edifice, and the spiritual remain, as the man- 
ifold wisdom of God. 

Let us, then, look for some of the moral and 
spiritual purposes, which this extraordinary event 
was designed to answer. — 1. It was designed to 
establish the authority of Joshua, as the Chief 
Magistrate of the Hebrew Republic, and successor 
of Moses. With reference to this, the Lord said 
to him, "This day will I begin to magnify thee in 
the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, 
as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee." 
God magnified him, because he would have the 
people to do it. Those are the most truly great, 
with whom God is, and whom he employs, and owns 
in his service. By the dividing of the sea, Israel was 
convinced that God was with Moses: therefore 
they are said to be baptized unto Moses in the 
sea. And now by the dividing of Jordan, they are 



PASSAGE OF JORDAN. 141 

to be convinced that God is in like manner with 
Joshua, in bringing them into Canaan. It was 
designed to impress the world that Government is 
an ordinance of God, and that the powers that be, 
are ordained of God; that magistrates, who fulfill 
the duties of their station, are to be honored and 
esteemed as public blessings, and be obeyed — not 
from fear of punishment, for conscience sake, 
Man, in his depravity, is such an outlaw with ref- 
erence to all authority, human and divine, that he 
must be taught obedience, by inanimate nature 
changing her laws, to shew him the example. — 2, 
It was designed to be a sure pledge of the conquest 
of Canaan. "Hereby," says Joshua to the people, 
"ye shall know that God will without fail drive out 
from before you the Canaanites." What can stand 
in his wav, before whom rivers are divided and 
dried up. How could they stand their ground, 
when Jordan itself was driven back. This assu- 
rance, that God was with them, would enable one 
to chase a thousand, and two to put ten thousand 
to flight. So God's gracious interpositions in behalf 
of his church ought to strengthen our faith, and 
hope for the future, and encourage every one in 
the onward conquest of his spiritual enemies. If 
Jordan's flood cannot keep them out, the forces of 
Canaan cannot turn them out, after they have 
taken possession. He that hath begun a good 
work in you, will carry it on until the day of Jesus 
Christ. The certainty of the accomplishment, de- 
pends upon the effectual commencement. If God 
be with you, to deliver you from Egypt, he will 
not forsake you at Jordan, and much less in Canaan. 
He that has done so much, will not fail to do what 
remains. His work already done, as well as his 



142 PASSAGE OF JORDAN. 

promise, become a security for what is yet to be 
done. What affords encouragement to those who 
follow where the Lord leads them, produces dismay 
to their enemies. When all the kings westward 
heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of 
Jordan, their heart melted, neither was there 
spirit in them any more, because of the children 
of Israel. — 3. It was to be a memorial to all the 
nations of the earth, of the existence, attributes, 
and government of the one, only, living, and true 
God. For this purpose a monument was erected in 
Gilgal, of the stones taken from the river, that the 
children of every coming generation might be 
taught what the Lord did in drying up the waters; 
that all the people of the earth might know the 
hand of the Lord, that it is mighty ; that ye might 
fear the Lord your God forever. Correct know- 
ledge of God is fundamental in all religion, and 
necessary to good citizenship; yet, man is strange- 
ly prone to corrupt this knowledge, and change 
the glory of the incorruptible God into an image. 
Hence, we see an important reason for so many 
direct, and miraculous interpositions in the estab- 
lishment of the Jewish, and christian systems. 
Monuments are every where erected, as perpetual 
remembrancers of this truth; yet idolatry has been 
the almost universal sin of the world. Every 
where in heathenism the images of man's device 
have overturned the pillars which God erected, and 
man has been debased in proportion. The light of 
the Jewish religion w r as at one time almost extin- 
guished by it; and the christian religion, as it faded 
in the dark shades of Romanism, almost ceased to 
reflect the true image of its divine author, till tha 
reformation drove away a part of the dark clouds 



PASSAGE OF JORDAN. 143 

which obscured it. And even yet, after almost six 
thousand years of his continual manifestations, and 
speaking monuments of Jehovah standing eminent 
every where in nature, providence, and grace, the 
glowing inscriptions of his name and attributes are 
seen and read by few; and millions of those who 
profess to take God for their law-giver, and Jesus 
Christ for their teacher, bow the knee to an 
image, venerate man departed as a demigod, and 
man living, in the person of a Pope, as the Vicar 
of Jesus Christ on earth. Surely there is need to 
improve the design of the pillar in Gilgal. And 
when your children shall ask, " What mean these 
stones? T*hen ye shall let your children know, 
saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land ; 
that all the people of the earth might know the 
hand of the Lord ; that ye might fear the Lord 
vour God forever," 



REMARKS, 

First. In this event you may contemplate the 
certain fulfillment of Divine promise. 1. In ref- 
ence to the future prosperity and glory of the 
church on earth. Of her future greatness God has 
spoken much greater things than he did of her, 
in her most privileged state in Canaan. In her 
widest extension there, the limits of the land of 
promise were to be her boundary; but in her future 
greatness, the world only is to confine her. "All 
the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of 
our God." Gentiles shall come to her light, and 
kings to the brightness of her rising; and the Lord 
be unto her an everlasting light, and God her glory. 
"A little one shall become a thousand, and a small 
one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in 



144 PASSAGE OF JORDAN. 

his time." These promises are made by the same 
God that promised Canaan to Abraham four hundred 
and seventy years before his descendants stood tri- 
umphantly on the plains of Jericho. They must 
be fulfilled, though all nations are the sacrifice, and 
nature herself be overturned. 

Second. The christian may be encouraged in 
reference to the future inheritance for himself. 
Many a dark scene had appeared to Abraham, and 
his descendants, since God first encouraged him to 
expect Canaan as his residence. Often God inter- 
posed to effect the object, and at last it is done. 
Through seas, and rivers, and parched deserts, they 
at last reach the promised inheritance. So every 
sincere follower of the Savior may at length hope 
to arrive safely in heaven. 

Third. The overthrow of the wicked is as certain 
as the triumph of his friends. They most signally 
©ccur together. 



LECTURE XVII. 



DESTRUCTION OF JERICHO. 



" So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets; 
&nd it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the 
trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall 
fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man 
straight before him, and they took the city : And they utterly des- 
troyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and 
eld, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword." 

Joshua 6: 20, 21. 

War has been the trade of man. Strange as it 
might seem, the practice of killing each other has 
been reduced to rules, taught as a science, and 
learned as an art; and he who has made the great- 
est progress in the knowledge of it, and has been 
most successful in the practice, has become the 
most distinguished among his fellow men, been hon- 
ored most while living, and eulogized when dead. 
The way to earthly glory has been through the 
field of blood; and he who could take the lives of 
the most of his fellow men, with the greatest ease, 
was the most sure of renown. Under this view of 
honor, or of securing dominion, or of defending 
rights, the earth has been made a battle field, and 
been filled with the groans of the dying ; become 
a graveyard for the dead, and been bedewed with 
the tears of widows and orphans. Strange, that 
this should be the case among beings of the same 
tribe, kindred and family; that brothers of the 
same father, children of the same mother, should 
thus apply themselves to the business of each others 
destruction. Surely there are sources of suffering 

10 



146 DESTRUCTION OF JERICHO. 

enough in the natural, and providential circumstan- 
ces of our condition, without every nation becoming 
the enemy of its neighbor, and every man the foe 
of his fellow. Our race presents the only instance 
of the same species being arrayed on a great scale 
for the destruction of itself. Among the inferior 
tribes, any general destructive warfare is of one 
species upon another; but the same species does 
not combine in parties to destroy itself. In the 
class of beings above man in intelligence and holi- 
ness, nothing of this appears of course. Among 
devils we have never heard of a war to weaken 
their own forces. Man, in many respects, is an 
anomoly in creation. When he does not combine 
in parts, to kill opposing parts, so self-willed and 
pagnacious is his nature, that he is always opposing 
and opposed, in reference to some object of opin- 
ion, or pursuit; so that objects most beneficial to 
the race, and most conducive to its happiness, fail 
of being carried into effect. This propensity, 
which is so dishonorable to man, and so pernicious to 
his interest, does not seem to grow old, and decline 
with the age of the world; but like man in his 
dotage, while he is less able and perhaps less inclined 
to go out to battle in the field, he is more petulent> 
and factious, in the corner. While the nations at 
present seem somewhat less disposed at once to 
kindle and blow the fire of ambition, to sound the 
trumpet of war, and charge the cannon for the 
combat on the great field of conflict, they are dis- 
posed, as ever, to employ the smaller arms in party 
strife; so that in no civil, or ecclesiastical matters^ 
of great general interest and high importance to 
the common happiness of the race, can there be 
any universal, united, and harmonious action* 



DESTRUCTION OP JERICHO. 147 

Thus, by contrary feeling and action, every good 
cause lauguishes, and the general prosperity is 
impeded. But in the case before us, we have an 
instance of the Lord himself ordering to the battle, 
commanding extermination, exciting the host, and 
achieving the victory. Can the authority of God 
be claimed for human butchery, and indiscriminate 
bloodshed? He who appeared unto Joshua with 
his sword drawn in his hand, as the captain of the 
Lord's host, said unto him, "See I have given into 
thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the 
mighty men of valor." 

The extirpation of the Canaanites by the Jews, 
according to the divine command, has been urged 
by the opposers of the Bible, as an act of the great- 
est cruelty and injustice. To this objection, the 
following ideas may be submitted in reply: 

First. That the Canaanites were not the original 
possessors, and that Hebrew herdsmen had several 
hundred years before occupied the land of Pales- 
tine, and never surrendered their right. When 
they claimed the territory, they only asserted their 
ancient right; which being refused, according to 
the commonly acknowledged rights of nations, 
they Avere justifiable in obtaining it by force. 

Second. They were a most depraved and idol- 
atrous race, and in the time of Abraham were 
devoted to destruction; but their iniquity was not 
yet full; that is, they were not arrived to such a 
length of impiety, as demanded their immediate 
destruction. A merciful Providence lengthened 
out the period of their probation for four hun- 
dred years, under which they became no better, 
but worse; and now God made the Israelites the 
executioners of his vengeance. That God had a 



148 DESTRUCTION OF JERICHO. 

right, as the righteous ruler of the world, to 
destroy them by famine, or pestilence, or some 
other stroke of justice, none, perhaps, will be dis- 
posed to dispute; and if so, why might he not, 
with equal propriety, do it by the sword of Israel. 

Third, The justice of their punishment appears 
also from the fact, which seems to be implied, that 
they might have preserved themselves by repent- 
ance, forsaking their wicked practices, and attach- 
ing themselves to the service of the God of Israel, 
as did the Gibeonites, and Rahab, a part of their 
number. 

As a fourth justification, their destruction is not 
to be attributed to Israel wholly, even as instru- 
ments, but to God directly, who wrought miracles 
to effect it. 

We are under the necessity of concluding, that 
this war upon the Canaanites was right, though it 
was apparently a violation of the sixth command- 
ment, "Thou shalt not kill.' 5 It was the sinfulness 
of the people of Canaan which made it right. So, 
sin in one of the parties, or both, is the cause of all 
the wars which have desolated the world. Yet, 
we do not suppose that it should be inferred from 
this, that no war is righteous on either side, what- 
ever be the circumstances. Men always show 
their wickedness, or their weakness, when they 
find fault with the government of God, or prescribe 
to him the rules of his administration, and dic- 
tate what his word should be. As we have just 
seen the law, and the proceedings of Joshua, in 
extirpating the Canaanites, has been pronounced 
cruel and unjust, and brought as a reason against 
the Bible which properly considered leaves no foun- 
dation for such a charge, It is a more becoming 



DESTRUCTION OF JERICHO. 149 

disposition in us, to learn what God has spoken and 
done, than to dictate what he should say and do. 
We have heard it said by more than one public 
teacher lately, in reference to another subject, that 
if the Bible ever taught the doctrine of property in 
man, they would burn the Bible and become Infi- 
dels; and that some Satan had got in the place of 
God, to make such a revelation, &c. Now, for our 
part, we do not see, why the objection we have 
noticed as brought against the Bible for its cruelty 
in authorizing the destruction of the nations of Ca- 
naan, is not more plausible than this last; unless it 
should appear, that it was more cruel to preserve life, 
than to take it way. Few would think, that if Joshua 
had preserved the inhabitants, and required them to 
be taught the Jewish religion, and to worship the true 
God, and permitted them to be incorporated with the 
Jewish church, that he was dealing with them more 
cruelly, than to put them indiscriminately to death. 
If God has a right over the life of men who are 
violators of his law, to take it away when, and by 
what instrumentality he pleases, we do not see 
why he may not, for the same reason, or a much 
more plausible one, have a right, and if he sees 
proper, exercise it, and place men where they 
would not enjoy all their natural liberty. Or, if 
men ever have the right to kill in war, why, for a 
better reason, may they not make their captives, 
subservient under restrictions to their will. If 
they have a right over the life, why may they not 
have over the liberty. The law r which has a claim 
for the execution of an offender, surely has a claim 
for his imprisonment for life in the State prison. 
If he be justly exposed to the higher penalty, he 
be to the less. I do not now dis- 



150 



DESTRUCTION OF JERICHO* 



cuss the question, whether under the present 
dispensation of God's government, one nation has 
a right, in any circumstances, to take the life of 
another, or a part of it ; or the question whether one 
nation has a right to deprive another, or a part of it, 
for life, of what is regarded as its natural rights: 
only this we have to say, that he who reads that 
God gives orders to one nation to extirpate anoth- 
er, and believes it to be the word of God, ought 
not to stand aghast if he finds in the same word, in 
another place and time, what seems to be a permis- 
sion, for purposes and reasons, all of which perhaps 
he does not know, to make servants of men; that 
he who believes that the people of Jericho were de- 
stroyed by the will of God, need not become skep- 
tical when he reads that the Gibeonites were made 
"hewers of wood and drawers of water" in their 
generations — that he who hears, and believes God 
to say, that Amelek shall be blotted out for- 
ever, need not turn pale when he hears God say, 
in reference to other sinners, that of the heathen 
that are round about you, of them shall ye buy; 
and they shall be your possession; servants for- 
ever — that if he is a believer in the one law, he 
need not be an infidel in the other. If he can 
believe the greater, he may believe the less. If 
God without infringing his moral government may 
put men to death by human instruments, he may, 
for as good a reason, make them perpetual servants 
by human instruments. As to the matter of fact 
whether he has done this, I do not now prove or 
disprove, but only say, that the moral government 
of God would not prevent him from doing so, if he 
thought proper, as some seem to take for granted. 
Jericho was a walled city, about six miles west 



DESTRUCTION OF JERICHO. 151 

from Jordan, and the first that opposed itself after 
they entered the land. It was no doubt one of 
those cities to which the discouraged and unbeliev- 
ing spies referred, when they made the heart of 
the people faint by describing the cities with walls 
up to heaven. As if to confound this unbelief, 
God seems determined to show how feeble the 
strongest opposition is, when it stands in the way 
of the execution of his will, and that his word and 
promise should be implicitly relied on in the face 
of all discouragements. That the interposition of 
God might be the more distinctly seen, they were 
not required to put themselves in battle array, or 
to fight, but merely to walk around the city once 
each day for six days, and on the seventh seven 
times. These marches were to be accompanied 
with the ark, the symbol of God's presence, and 
the blowing of rams' horns. These means w r ere 
utterly inadequate to produce the desired result, 
and seemed to have no fitness to the end in view. 
And doubtless the use of them exposed the Israel- 
ites to the contempt of their adversaries. It was 
such a mode of attack as they had never seen or 
heard of, and looked more like the sports of boy- 
hood, than the bravery of experienced soldiers, or 
the skill of good generalship. But "the foolishness 
of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of 
God is stronger than men." That the presence and 
power of the efficient agent may be more certainly 
and distinctly seen, and praise be given to whom 
it is due, the weakest and most unlikely instru- 
ments are often selected. 



REMARKS. 

That this event is capable of being applied to 



152 DESTRUCTION OF JERICHO. 

evangelical uses, and of affording us instruction in 
spiritual things, may be inferred from what the 
Apostle Paul says of it, (Heb. 11: 30,) «By faith 
the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were 
compassed about seven days." Let us inquire in 
what sense it was done by faith. It was evidently 
done by the invisible power, and miraculous agency 
of God; yet, the apostle says it was done by faith, 
It was by faith, 

First, As it was by the influence of this principle 
that they were induced to obey, without seeing 
any natural connection between their obedience 
and the object in view. 

All the different aspects of religion which appear 
among men, may, perhaps, be reduced to four 
causes, as their origin. 1, Mysticism; 2. Ration- 
alism; 3. A reliance on the efficacy and merit of 
works; and, 4. Faith. 

The first supposes religion to be a system of 
mysteries, which it would be presumption to 
attempt to understand, and which proceeds from 
man by a standing and continued inspiration, 
This is the parent of all superstition, and fanati- 
cism; and is the fostering nurse of all the pagan- 
ism of the heathen world, and of the papacy in 
Christendom, and fanaticism every where. 

The second, Rationalism, is the opposite of this, 
and believes in no revelation of truth, or duty, 
which does not level itself to the scrutiny of 
depraved reason, and pass with acceptance this 
fiery ordeal. This is the prolific source of infidel- 
ity in its various degrees and shades of difference; 
of erroneous views of doctrinal truth among those 
who receive the word of God professedly, and of 
neglect of duty, or of refusal of obedience, except 



DESTRUCTION OF JERICHO. 



153 



so far as a discovered interest prompts to duty* 
The third principle, Merit of Works, prompts 
to obedience, and multiplies duties beyond God's 
requirement; for the reason, that the more is done, 
the more abundant and certain will be the reward, 
and the performer of them will be more certainly 
the favorite of heaven. Hence, the abundance of 
a certain kind of works wherever the influence of 
this theory prevails. 

The fourth is Faith, which is entirely different, 
and opposed to all these others, It differs from 
Mysticism in this, that its obedience is intelligent. 
It knows why it obeys, because it is required by 
competent authority. Though it may not know 
the reason of the command, or the connection 
between the obedience and the blessing, it is sure 
of the command, and that it regards as sufficient. 
It regards blind and unintelligent impulses as insuf- 
ficient to control its regards. It must be certain oi 
the revelation of the truth or duty; that is all it 
requires. With Superstition it has no fellowship, 
and claims as little affinity with Fanaticism. It dif- 
fers from Rationalism in this, that it submits itself 
as a learner of what revelation is, and does not 
assume the place of a master, to prescribe what it 
ought to be. It is diffident till it knows, then it is 
sure and unconquerable. It differs from the Merit 
of Works, in that it does no more than is required, 
and doing what it does, not from a view of its effi- 
cacy and meritoriousness, but because it is right 
and agreeable, and a blessing is graciously prom- 
ised. The peculiar nature of the one principle is, 
to depend upon itself; of the other, to depend upon 
God, not upon itself. Of the one to exalt man and 
abase God; of the other to abase man and exalt 



154 DESTRUCTION OF JERICHO. 

God. This peculiar nature of faith is illustrated 
in the narrative before us. 

First, In using means without seeing any natural 
connection between them and the end. How could 
the blast of a ram's horn prostrate stone walls? 

Second, In its perseverance amidst discourage- 
ment and reproach. 

Third, In the certain though mysterious connec- 
tion which its exercise, in the use of appointed 
means, has with the final and glorious result. The 
wall did not fall by any inherent impulse proceeding 
from faith 5 neither are we justified by its merits. 



LECTURE XVIII. 

ARREST OF THE SUN. 

"Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord 
delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said 
in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou* 
Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the 
moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their 
enemies. Is not this wri ten in the book of Jasberl So the sun 
stood still in the midst of heaven, and hastened not to go down 
about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or 
after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man : for the 
Lord fought for Israel." — Joshua 10: 12—14. 

It has been objected by infidelity, as we before 
noticed, against the morality of the Bible, that it 
authorized the extirpation of the Canaanites; so 
also it has been objected against the event here 
recorded, that it is contrary to philosophy. But it 
should be remembered, that it is impossible to ac- 
count for any miracle on philosophical principles. 
Philosophy is a regular classification of the uniform 
laws of nature, which have been ascertained by 
accurate observation and experience. A miracle 
cannot be accounted for by reference to such uni- 
form laws ; for, from the nature of the case, it is a 
departure from those laws, and it is this which 
makes it a miracle. But, the manner of the de- 
scription, it is said, according to which the sun 
and moon were made to stand still, must be con- 
trary to the fact in the case, since, according to 
the certainly known truths of astronomy, it is 
not the motion of the sun which occasions the 
vicissitudes of day and night, but the rotation 



156 ARREST OF THE SUN. 

of the earth. But to this it may be remarked, that 
the Scripture generally speaks in popular, and not 
in scientific language. They describe the things of 
the natural world, not according to the discoveries 
of philosophy, but according to appearances and 
common apprehension. Thus, they speak of the 
sun rising and setting, of the ends of the earth, of 
passing from one end of heaven to the other, and 
this, indeed, is the every day language of men still. 
Philosophers themselves speak in this way, as well 
as others. Whether the sun, or the earth, was ar- 
rested in its course, the appearance w r ould be the 
same. And it is the appearance, and not the philo- 
sophic fact, which is described. Of the precise 
mode in which the miracle took place, two solu- 
tions have been given, though it may be impossi- 
ble to determine positively which of them is the 
true one. 

The effect may have been owing to the stopping 
of the earth's rotary motion. If so, it presents 
a most sublime display of the power of God. 
To stop a mass of matter twenty-five thousand 
miles in circumference, whirling at the rapid 
rate of one thousand miles an hour, presents an over- 
whelming view of omnipotence. Without other 
simultaneous miraculous interpositions equally as- 
tonishing, this sudden arrest of the earth in its pro- 
gress w r ould have produced the most tremendous 
effects. " The natural consequence of such a sud- 
den check to the earth, would have been by 
means of the atmosphere, to crush at once all ani- 
mal and vegetable existence, to level with the 
ground the most lofty and massive structures, and 
in fact, to sweep the whole surface of the globe as 
with the besom of destruction. But, if the miracle 



ARREST OF THE SUN. 157 

was performed in this way, the same power that 
effected this, was equally competent to guard against 
any destructive consequences arising from it. 

Another hypothesis is, that the rotary motion of 
the earth was not stopped ; but that the light of the 
sun and moon was supernaturally prolonged by the 
operation of the same laws of refraction and reflec- 
tion which ordinarily cause the sun to appear above 
the horizon, when he is really below it. That He 
who established the laws which regulate the trans- 
mission of light, may at this time, so have influenced 
the medium through which the sun's rays passed, as 
to render the sun still visible, long after the time 
when in ordinary circumstances, he would have dis- 
appeared. This would have had the same visible 
effect as the other. As to the mode in which the 
event was produced, we are not particularly inform- 
ed; the fact only is stated as it appeared; and this 
is the way things are generally stated in the Scrip- 
tures, both natural and spiritual. Thus it is said, in 
the beginning God created the heavens and the 
earth, but how he did it, we are not informed. So 
of the new creation of the soul it is said, "The wind 
bloweth, where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound 
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and 
whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of the 
spirit." Our ignorance or inability to explain the 
manner of a fact, is no reason why we should dis- 
believe the fact itself, provided we have sufficient 
evidence of its existence. Having, then satisfactory 
evidence of this wonderful fact, let us proceed to 
learn some of the important lessons which it. was 
designed the men of that and every succeeding age 
should learn from it ; and 

First, This arrest upon the sun and moon, was 



158 ARREST OF THE SUN. 

directly calculated to humble the pride of heathen 
worshipers, and weaken their confidence in their 
gods. The sun and moon were worshiped by Phe- 
nicians, Canaanites, and other nations, under the 
name of Baal, or Bel/and Astaroth. Baal is the most 
ancient god of the Canaanites, and perhaps of the 
East. They offered human sacrifices to him, and 
erected altars to him, in groves and high places. He is 
supposed to be the same with the Saturn of Greece 
and Rome. The sun was adored over all the East, and 
is the most ancient deity acknowledged among the 
heathen. These two bodies were regarded as the 
generative and productive powers of nature. This 
arrest of them in the heavens, at the command of 
the captain of the Lord's people, to prolong the light 
for the destruction of their own worshipers, must 
have been calculated, in the most striking manner, 
to convince them, and idolaters generally, that the 
objects of their adoration were under the control of 
a higher power, and were utterly useless as helpers 
in the time of need. Joshua commands, or rather 
prays. God, who made the sun and the planets, 
and maintains them in their courses, hears. It is 
agreeable to his will, he has suggested it to the mind 
of the petitioner, or so daring, and apparently pre- 
sumptuous a request, would not have proceeded 
from a heart so well regulated as that of Joshua. 
The sun — though such a strange order was never 
issued to him since the morning he commenced his 
majestic course in the heavens — as an obedient ser- 
vant obeys the high command, and continues to pour- 
forth his effulgent and cheering light; the moon 
stops in her ascent, till the sun would advance to 
make her approach necessary, to elevate the gloom 
of night, that it might be seen on which side the 



ARREST OF THE SUN. 159 

victory lay : with the worshipers of Jehovah, or the 
worshipers of Baal. Whether God the maker, or 
the sun and moon, his servants, had the best claim 
to the homage of man. And the result, as usual, 
when God interposes, was on the side of his honor, 
Who, after this, will pay divine honors to these 
creatures of Jehovah's power? But strange to tell, 
the question had, after this, to be asked of Joshua's 
descendants, how long halt ye between two opin- 
ions; if the Lord be God, follow him: if Baal, then 
follow him. And for this sin, they had to be pun- 
ished in a heathen land by the worshipers of Bel. 
So strangely prepense to sin is man ; so little does 
he like to retain the knowledge of God in his 
thoughts, and so prone to worship and serve the 
creature more than the Creator, who is God over 
all blessed forever. But, 

Second. It may teach us the immensity of the 
Divine control, and enlarge our conceptions of 
Omnipotence, and of a continually superintending 
Providence. If nature stops in its wonderful course, 
at the bidding of God, its continuing in its course 
in that exactness and uniformity which distinguish- 
es it, must be owing to the constant exercise of that 
power which put it motion. Philosophy herself, 
teaches us, that viz inertia, or the power of no 
motion, is an essential property of matter. That it 
will never put itself in motion, or continue in motion 
any longer than it is operated upon by an external 
force. Look, then, at the immensity of God's 
creation. It is too vast, it is true, to, be seen by 
mortal eyes, or be grasped by our limited under- 
standing. This earth on which we live, and which 
from its nearness to us, is so magnified in our view 
as to be the principal part of the works of God, is. 



160 



ARREST OF THE SUN. 



in fact, but a speck in creation. It is only a few 
miles of the surface of this which we have ever 
seen. We believe it is vastly larger than what we 
have seen of it, upon the testimony of others — that 
there is such an empire as China, and a population 
there, out of which ours would scarcely be missed. 
We look to the heavens, w r e see the appearance of 
innumerable bodies there. Others have assisted 
their eye-sight, by which they have been magnified 
a thousand fold, and brought into their neighborhood 
for inspection. Geometry has lent her aid with its 
certain calculations. The universe spreads out into 
greater vastness, by every new accession of strength 
to the power of vision, and with every advance in 
the perfection of numbers. Every step in improving 
the power of intercourse with distant worlds, is 
rewarded by the evidence of a new world being 
there. With these facts before him, who would 
dare to prescribe limits to creation? Or, who could 
say, that life and intelligence was not there? Who 
would say, that creation was no Irager than could 
enter into the pupil of his eye, or that he had scanned 
the workmanship of the Infinite? What mean 
those eighty millions of twinkling points, at so great 
a distance from our sun and system, that it would 
take a cannon ball hundreds of thousands of years 
to describe the mighty interval which separates 
between us? That our earth with all its speed, in 
a direct course to them, since the creation, would 
not yet have completed the journey. They must be 
immense bodies, or they could not be seen so far. 
They cannot shine to us by light borrowed from 
©ur sun. They must be suns themselves, and were 
we transported to one of these, our earth, which 
we think so large, would be wholly unseen, and our 



ARREST OF THE SUN. l6l 

sun appear a star. And think you at this remote 
point, you could draw your pencil and mark the 
outskirts of creation? Or might not other suns 
and systems arise to view, still as far remote? 
And even at the end of this lofty flight be con- 
strained, in view of what is still beyond, to exclaim 
with Job, "Lo these are parts or lower ends of his 
ways;" or with another, "Great and miraculous are 
thy works in wisdom. Hast thou made them all?" 
In every part of this vast and incomprehensible 
creation the power of God is present, giving velo- 
city to the whirl of worlds, and guiding the 
immense, complex mechanism without a failure, in 
hair-breadth exactness, through thousands of years. 
What an idea does this give us of the attention of 
God. We can attend to but one, and that a small 
thing, at once. When we attempt more, some- 
thing is neglected. But while the attention of God 
is managing the weigthy concerns of the distant 
parts of the universe, nothing is neglected else- 
where. And while he is rolling the spheres in their 
orbits, he is at the same time attending the mean 
affairs of men, as much as if his whole attention was 
directed to one single individual — an attention so 
minute, that a sparrow cannot fall to the ground 
without his notice, and numbers the hairs of the 
head. When we consider the heavens, the work 
of thy fingers, the moon and the stars that thou 
hast made, " What is man, that thou art mindful of 
him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" 
Third, This arrest of the planets in their orbits, 
may teach us not to deify nature in another respect 
from what the men of the east did. They paid a 
direct religious veneration to the luminaries of 
heaven. We are the more prone to pay, not the 



162 ARREST OE THE SUN, 

homage of an external devotion, but of an inward 
reliance upon the constancy of nature. Because 
the regular operations of nature continue their un- 
ceasing round of blessings, God becomes excluded 
from the regards of men. The very constancy of 
his operations, and his unceasing attentions, be- 
come an occasion of excluding God altogether from 
the contemplation; and the wheels of nature, and 
providence, are regarded as driven on by a fatal 
necessity, which is unchangable in its operations, 
and merits no gratitude for its continuance. This 
is the theme which the apostle Peter introduces the 
scoffers of the last day as seizing upon, as a defence 
against the retributions of justice, While walking 
in their own lusts, they say, "Where is the promise 
of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all 
things continue as they were from the beginning of 
the creation.*" Here this infidelity rested on the 
basis, that the economy of nature was perpetual 
and. everlasting. In proportion to her past endu- 
rance, was the firm confidence in her future perpe- 
tuity. To such men, nothing looked more unlikely 
than the intervention of God with the system of 
visible things. Every day's continuance of nature 
as it was, strengthened this confidence, till men, in 
the spirit of defiance or ridicule, braved the an- 
nouncement, that the judge will appear to stop the 
onw r ard current of things, and bring them to judg- 
ment. This same infidelity which excludes a God 
from the throne of judgment, by a little change in 
its course, excludes God from the throne of provi- 
dence. The one would expunge from its creed the 
doctrine of a coming judgment; the other would 
exclude from it the doctrine of a present and spe- 
cial providence. By one form of thought, it is 



ARREST OP THE SUN. 163 

presumed that nature will never have a termina- 
tion ; by the other, that nature will not change 
now; and both ideas are imagined from nature's 
constancy. How strange! how ineffably wicked! 
that the very constancy of God's care should be 
made the reason to believe that he exercised no 
care at all; and his faithfulness in upholding his 
works, that we should be -happy, should become the 
reason for disbelieving his word — that because he 
was not swift to execute the threatening, man should 
from that believe he had no hand in bestowing the 
good. But this sudden arrest of nature in her 
grander movements — this bringing in the sun and 
moon to aid one of the contending parties, for the 
overthrow of those who had ceased to acknowl- 
edge the God of providence, and transferred their 
homage to the sun, as the highest source of 
blessings — teaches the whole earth not to deify 
nature, and exclude from their regards nature's 
God — that divine control is behind the mighty 
wheels of providence, moving them at pleasure, and 
stopping them at his will — that he who could stop 
the sun once, can do it again, turning him into 
blood, and cover the moon as with a sackcloth of 
hair, and roll the heavens together as a scroll. 

Fourth, This event may teach the world the 
efficacy of prayer. 

This same experience of the constancy of nature 
is seized upon, both as a matter of infidel theory, 
and every day ungodly practice, as an apolgy for 
the neglect of prayer. The laws of nature, it is 
said are fixed — uniform effects flow from like 
causes. It is weakness to hope to break this con- 
nection, or alter the result, by interposing another 
cause, so unlikely as prayer, to change the result., 



164 ARREST OF THE SUN. 

Now this case, as a practical instance, presents a 
matter of historic fact, against this philosophic 
abstraction. This too, on the grander scale of 
nature's processes. Joshua prays — a world stops 
in its mighty revolution. Which check too, must, 
unless guarded, have thrown confusion, if not 
destruction, into the whole solar system, if not the 
universe of worlds: and all this when one man 
prays. Who then, in view of such facts, will pre- 
tend that in his philosophic researches into the 
arcana of nature, in his ascending process up the 
chain of causes, he has gone so far as to be certain, 
that there is no one of the links that may be 
touched by the finger of God, and control the 
event, even without producing any such visible 
changes in the visible causes, as to make it miracu- 
lous. Here prayer was answered by a change of 
the visible phenomena, and therefore miraculous: 
but who can say that an invisible link may not be 
touched, and lead to the result as certainly, and 
not be miraculous? Thus prayer may be answered 
and nature not appear to be changed. 

Fifth, We are taught that there is an intimate 
connection in the different and distant parts of the 
material universe: so there is in the intelligent 
and spiritual. There is joy in heaven over one 
sinner that repenteth. 

Finally, we may infer, that the objects of faith, 
like those of sight, may be very different from 
what they appear. To the unaided vision, the 
earth appears the greatest object in the universe, 
but dwindles into insignificance as our sight is 
aided; so it is with faith, with the telescope of 
truth applied to the spiritual world. 



LECTURE XIX. 

THE CERTAINTY OF THE BELIEVER'S, AND OF THE 
CHURCHES TRIUMPH, ILLUSTRATED BY THE OVER- 
THROW OF THE MIDIAN1TES BY GIDEON. 

"Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that 
was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes ; 
and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consutrnd the flesh and 
the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of 
his sight. 

"And Gideon said unto God, If thou will save Israel by mine 
hand, as thoa hast said, behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the 
floor; and if th • dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all 
the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by 
mine hand, as thou hast said. And it was so: for he rose up early 
on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the 
dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water And Gideon said unto 
God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but 
this once: Let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; 
let it now be dry only upon (he fleece; and upon all the ground let 
there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the 
fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground." 

Judgks6: 21,36—40. 

The miracles which God wrought by Moses, 
notwithstanding the frequent seasons of forget- 
fulness, made a lasting impression on the minds 
of that generation which was cotemporary with 
Moses and Joshua. Thus it is said, "The people 
served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the 
days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had 
seen all the great works of the Lord, that he did 
for Israel." But when Joshua were dead, and "all 
that generation were gathered unto their fathers: 
and there arose another generation after them, which 
knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he 



166 



ONERTHROW OF THE MIDIANITES. 



had done for Israel;" then they did evil in the sight 
of the Lord, and served the gods of the people that 
were round about them. For this the Lord deliv- 
ered them into the hands of their enemies, and 
was against them for evil. Though the Lord, 
because of their oppression, raised up judges which 
delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled 
them, when the judges were dead, they corrupted 
themselves more than their fathers. 

On this occasion, for their sins, they w r ere deliv- 
ered into the hand of Midian seven years. To 
escape their ravages, they concealed themselves in 
dens in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds. 
The increase of the fields was destroyed by them, 
so that there was no sustenance left. In the 
extremity of their distress they cried unto the 
Lord, who sent them a prophet, who assured them 
that the cause of their distress was the breach of 
covenant with God, and their disobedience. It is 
only when an individual, or a community are sen- 
sible of their sins, and turn to God for help, with a 
full sense of their dependence on him, that they 
may reasonably hope to obtain deliverance. When 
they cried to the Lord, he not only sent a preacher 
to them, to deepen their repentance, and bring 
to their remembrance God's past faithfulness, and 
"wonderful works, but also an angel of the Lord 
appeared in Ophrah, to the son of Joash, to com- 
mission and encourage him to undertake the res- 
ponsible task of subduing the countless numbers of 
the enemies of Israel, and leading them forth to a 
joyful victory. Gideon little expected such a visit, 
or such a commission; and like Moses, when the 
Lord would make him the distinguished instrument 
of effecting the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, 



OVERTHROW OF THE MIDIANITES. 10 i 

was ready to excuse himself by many apologies. 
To remove his excuses, the Lord assured him that 
he would be with him. He asks a miracle to sat- 
isfy him, that there was no mistake in the person- 
age with whom he was holding converse. He 
asks of the angel that he would remain till he 
brought his present. With this request he com- 
plies. A kid is speedily prepared, and unleavened 
cakes, and, according to the direction of the heav- 
enly visitant, are laid upon a rock. The angel 
touched them with the end of his staff, and there 
rose up fire out of the rock and consumed them, 
and then he vanished as a spirit, perhaps in the 
flame which he had kindled. By this he was satis- 
fied that it was the angel of the Lord, but was 
more terrified than comforted by the assurance, 
until the Lord said, "Peace be unto thee; fear not: 
thou shalt not die." Man, since the apostacy, has 
ever been afraid of God, and of heavenly messen- 
gers. Man in his primeval innocence held delight- 
ful intercourse with his Maker; no sooner did he 
sin, than he hid himself from the approach of him 
in whose converse he so lately delighted. Ever 
since God has been feared, even when he comes on 
errands of mercy. Angels, and even the presence 
of godly men, are feared and disliked by those 
whose pleasure it is to sin. When the Son of God 
came to seek and to save the lost, he was entreated 
to depart out of their coasts. And when God the 
Spirit comes to convince and renovate the sinner, 
his depraved nature says, Depart from us, we 
desire not the knowledge of thy ways. It is only 
by the assurance of peace, that there can be confi- 
dence and fellowship. This consumption of. the 
sacrifice shewed that it was not needed for meat. 



J 68 OVERTHROW OF THE MIDIANITES, 

but for sacrifice; and it being consumed, signified 
to Gideon that he had found grace in the sight of 
the Lord. God usually testified his acceptance of 
sacrifice, by kindling them with fire from heaven. 
The acceptance of the sacrifice, was a token of the 
acceptance of his person, and went to confirm the 
commission now given him, and afford him every 
needed assurance of success. The acceptance of 
the sacrifice preceded the announcement of peace,, 
and the assurance that he would not die; so in 
our intercourse with God. Sin has broken up all 
fellowship, and introduced fear and dismay. It is 
only by the acceptance of the sacrifice of Christ 
in our behalf, and aur interest in it, by presenting 
it to God by faith, and reliance upon it, instead of 
our imperfect obedience, that the terror of the con- 
science ceases, and Jehovah Shallam, The Lord* 
Peace, as a memorial can be erected. 

This miraculous evidence of supernatural presence 
and power, seems to have satisfied Gideon for the 
time, of his acceptance, and of his commission ; but 
when called, as he was, immediately to difficult 
and trying service, he seemed to feel the need of 
further confirmation of his faith. His responsibik 
ity increases with his privileges. If his sacrifice 
was consumed, it was not only that peace might be 
spoken to him, and his soul repose in enjoyment ; 
but it was* that the same night he should begin ta 
reform the nation, commencing with his father's 
house; that he should cut down the grove, taking 
his father's bullock, and building an altar on this 
same rock. For this, the men of his tribe arose 
against him for his destruction. So, no sooner do 
men begin at the call of God to oppose sin on a 
great scale* than they have to meet with pejrsecu^ 



OVERTHROW OF THE MIDIANITES. 169 

tion, and that, too, often from their kindred and 
friends. Paul no sooner began to preach the faith 
which once he destroyed, than he had to flee for 
his life, and take refuge among the heathen, and 
find a protection among them, which was refused 
him among his own people. This trial of faith, 
this opposition and persecution is, perhaps, unlooked 
for in the first tranquility of a newly exercised 
faith; and by these after trials and labors to which 
it is exposed, many are offended and fail: and the 
faith of all needs to be strengthened, to bear the 
burden and overcome the discouragements. We 
need not only evidence to satisfy us that God has 
spoken peace to us through the atonement, that 
God has accepted his sacrifice in our behalf, and 
that our sins are forgiven; but we need assurance 
that our depravity shall not overcome us, that our 
spiritual enemies shall be subdued, and that we 
shall not one day fall by their hands. With that 
strength, of faith which Gideon had obtained by 
the first miracle of the presence of God, and of the 
strength of his promise, he was able to commence 
and proceed a certain way in the performance of 
duty. But difficulties increase, the path becomes 
more thickly beset with thorns, the burden becomes 
too heavy for his present strength, the Midianites 
are spread out like grasshoppers, and their camels 
without number, and the faith which was strong 
enough once, is too weak for the increased diffi- 
culty now; and he asks that the dew may be on the 
fleece only, and that it may be dry on the earth 
beside, that he might know that God would save 
Israel by his hand, as he had said. It might seem 
to be provoking to God, to ask him to work a mira- 
cle, to satisfy us that what he said was true — that 



170 OVERTHROW OF THE MIDIANITES. 

he would fulfill his own voluntary promise; but he 
condescends to our infirmity, and bears with our 
weakness. He gives the asked for sign, and Gid- 
eon satisfies himself of the fact by wringing out 
of the fleece, a bowl full of water. Even yet, his 
faith is not equal to the hazardous undertaking to 
which he is called, and he tremblingly asks to 
prove God once more, and that it be dry only upon 
it, and dew upon all the ground beside. This also 
was granted, and was more strange than the other, 
as it is natural for wool to absorb whatever mois- 
ture there may be in the air about it. This was in 
direct contravention of the ordinary laws of nature; 
so willing is God to give to the heirs of promise 
strong consolation, -even by two immutable things 
in which it is impossible for God to lie. He suffers 
himself not only to be prevailed with by their 
importunities, but to be prescribed to by their 
doubts and dissatisfactions. The reason why many 
fail, when more difficulties are to be performed, or 
more severe trials to be encountered is, that they 
rely upon the strength or grace they have, and do 
not look for more. But if God calls us to more 
difficult service, he calls us also to rely upon him 
for strength to do it. The grace of the promise is 
always equal to the duty of the command; so that 
we are always without excuse for disobedience. 
But God sometimes, by his command, and often by 
his providence, seems to throw embarrassments in 
the way of results toward which he directs us, 
and for the accomplishment of which we may be 
using the means with a good degree of faithfulness; 
so that our faith, after it has been strengthened once 
and again, may be too weak to overcome the dis- 
couragements which God himself seems to occasion. 



OVERTHROW OF THE MIDIANITES. 



171 



Gideon's courage seemed to be equal to the 
enterprise, after his faith had been thrice invigora- 
ted by miracles, while he marched at the head of 
thirty-two thousand volunteers against his numer- 
ous enemy; but when God, by a special arrange- 
ment, reduced his forces to three hundred men, his 
fears again prevailed. So hard is it to rely upon 
faith, when it is opposed by the evidence # of sense. 
We may not suspect the weakness of our faith 
until all other sources of confidence are removed; 
then, like Peter, with no other foundation under 
our feet than the yielding waves and a simple 
confidence in the promise of God, we feel disposed 
to stop in our progress, and say, "Save Lord, I 
perish." It is faith, in its unusual exercises, that 
admits of no doubt — when all visible appearances 
are against the fulfillment of the promise. It is such 
faith only as that of Abraham, that hopes against 
hope — that in the midst of every earthly discour- 
agement is strong, giving glory to God. The Lord 
had said, "With these three hundred will I deliver 
them as one man into thy hand." But reason and 
experience say, What are three hundred to con- 
tend with a multitude, spread out upon the valley 
as grasshoppers, and camels as the sand of the sea. 
But providence comes to the aid of miracle, to 
remove this suspense. A dream disturbs the repose 
of a Midianitish soldier, and is told to his fellow at 
the very moment when Gideon was near enough 
to hear it and its interpretation. And while it rep- 
resented him and his forces as no more than the 
rolling of a barley cake among the tents of the 
enemy; yet it strangely overturned them. This 
dissipates his remaining doubts, and he commences 
the attack with no other weapons than trumpets 



172 OVERTHROW OF THE MIDIANITES. 

and torches, with their light concealed in earthen 
pitchers. Surely, sense and reason can have noth- 
ing to do in assailing an enemy with such a prep- 
aration. It is not without reason that Gideon is 
placed by the apostle in the catalogue of those, 
"Who by faith subdued kingdoms, and wrought 
righteousness, and obtained a good report." 

While the best laid schemes of mere human 
policy are often overturned, faith always conquers. 
She hath won a thousand victories, and has never 
known a defeat. And whenever you ask in view 
of a failure in doing what God requires, Why 
could we not do it? the answer will be as it was 
to the disciples, "Because of your unbelief." Faith 
is as unconquerable as omnipotence, on which it 
rests. It "overcomes the world" — It "conquers 
earth and hell by a celestial power" — It "waxes 
valiant in fight, and puts to flight the armies 
of the aliens, quenches the violence of fire, and 
stops the mouths of lions." Gideon goes with 
the force and the arms which God directs, relying 
upon the promise. They shout "The sword of the 
Lord and of Gideon" — they break the vessels, and 
three hundred torchlights illuminate the midnight 
darkness, and as many trumpets break the silence 
of night. The enemy conclude, that if there be so 
many torch- bearers, and so many trumpeters, the 
whole host must be immense. They are thrown 
into confusion, become each others executioners, 
and flee in dismay. So easy is it for God to con- 
quer, by many or by few; so weak is the most for- 
midable enemy when God is against them; and so 
sure is success on the side of faith and obedience. 

Let us review the particulars of this description, 
to contemplate the agencies and influences upon 



OVERTHROW OF THE MIDIANITES. 



173 



which individual believers, and the universal church 
may rely for a final victory. 

The first thing that arrested the attention of 
Gideon, was the appearance of the angel under 
the oak at Ophrah. This angel was no doubt the 
Son of God himself, who often appeared in human 
form to the patriarchs. By this he gave intimation 
of his future incarnation. This is he of whom 
Malachi, in the close of the Old Testament predic- 
tion, speaks, giving assurance to the church, that 
the angel of the covenant, whom they delighted 
in, should suddenly appear in his temple. He is 
called the Lord, or Jehovah, in this narrative, 
which title cannot apply to a created angel. This 
angel then, which appeared to Gideon, and by mir- 
aculous fire from the rock consumed the sacrifice, 
and thus proved to him his divinity, has since 
appeared in real humanity, and offered himself a 
sacrifice, without spot, to God, and thereby pur- 
chased the church with his own blood, and proved 
himself to be the Son of God with power, by many 
miracles, and his resurrection from the dead. He 
gave himself not only to us, as he appeared to Gid- 
eon to confirm his faith in his word, but for us, 
that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and 
purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of. 
good works. Having made his soul an offering for 
sin, he shall see his seed, he shall see the travail of 
his soul and be satisfied. Being now exalted, every 
knee shall bow to him, and every tongue shall con- 
fess to God. By the cross he laid a sure foundation 
for victory. 

Second, Gideon was qualified for his work, by 
being endowed with the gifts and graces of the 
Spirit. As it is said, the Spirit of the Lord came 



174 OVERTHROW OF THE MIDIANITES. 

upon him, or clothed him, giving him in all those 
qualifications necessary for his arduous under- 
taking. In a similar way, and by the same Spirit, 
the apostles were indued with power from on high, 
at Jerusalem. 

This qualification for carrying forward the work 
of the Lord, is more generally and more abund- 
antly furnished now. This promise of the Father 
has been fully granted, and we live under the dis- 
pensation of the Spirit. In bestowing this, God is 
as the dew unto Israel, and moistens the dry fleece 
of the soul, "pours water upon him that is thirsty, 
and floods upon the dry ground." By this, the 
christian mortifies the deeds of the body, and "the 
world is reproved of sin, of righteousness and judg- 
ment;" by this, the leaders of the Lord's host are 
furnished with official gifts f and the renovated tribes 
go on to further conquest. 

Third, A prophet or minister was sent unto 
them, to teach them their duty, their relation to 
their covenant God, and bring them to repentance 
for their sins. And this was the Savior's ascension 
gift to us, Some pastors and teachers for the work 
of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of 
Christ: till we all come to the measure of the full- 
ness of Christ. It has pleased God to put "the 
treasure in these earthen vessels, that the excellen- 
cy of the power might be of God." By the light 
which they have shed, confusion has been spread 
into the ranks of God's enemies, and the Gospel 
has been the powder of God unto salvation. 

Fourth, There is put into our hands the word of 
God, which is the sword of the Spirit. and trumpet 
of the Gospel; and every soldier of the cross is 
required to let his light shine, to hold forth th§ 



OVERTHROW OF THE MIDIANITES. 175 

word of life, to blow the trumpet, and shout "the 
sword of the Lord and Gideon." These are our 
resources, and the field of conquest is the whole 
range of depravity in every individual heart within 
you, and the world of unconverted mankind with- 
out. The field is the world. "Go ye into all the 
world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 
Ye are the salt of the earth." 

The encouragements are, that God is on the side 
of holiness and truth. Though in view of the 
strength of depravity within you, and its firm 
establishment without, and the many false-hearted 
under the banner of the captain of salvation, you 
may fear that the cause for which you are enlisted 
is no more than a barley cake to that which opposes 
it, it will at length prevail; and if true and faithful, 
you will shout salvation on the hills of light, "The 
Lord God omnipotent reignethu" 



LECTURE XX. 



THE CHARACTER AND MIRACLES OF SAMSON. 

£< And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and 
the child grew, and the Lordbiesstd him. And the Spirit of the 
Lord began to move him at tines in the camp of Dan between Zo= 
rah and Esaataoi."— -Judges 13: 24, 25. 

" And he was sore athirst, and called on the Lord, and said, Thou 
hast given this great deliver nice into the hand of ihy servant: and 
now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircum- 
cised 1 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and 
there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit 
came again, and he revive i : wherefore he called the name thereof 
En-ha'.ikore, which is in Lehi unto this day." — 15: 18, 19. 

"And Samson ealled unto the Lord, and said, O Loid God 
remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only 
this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines 
for my two eyes. And Samson took hold of the two middle pil» 
lars upon which the house tood, and on which it was borne up, of 
the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. And 
Samson said, Let. me die with the Philistines. And he bowed him- 
self with all his might ; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon 
all the people that were therein : so that the dead which he slew at 
his death were more than they which he slew in his life." — 16: 
2S— 30. 

The Hebrew commonwealth, according to the 
institutions of Moses, partook very much of the 
nature of a Republic, and the judges from the time 
of Joshua to Saul, their first king, were the chief 
magistrates of the whole nation, or of particular 
states or tribes Their power was a medium 
between that of a king and an ordinary magistrate. 
Their office generally lasted for life, but their suc- 
cession was not always continued. They lived 
sometimes under the dominion of strangers, with- 
out government of their own. They were usually 



MIRACLES OF SAMSON. 177 

designated by God, by special appointments, or 
from the gifts with which they were invested, or 
the exploits they were enabled to perform, were 
chosen by the people, to deliver them from their 
oppressors. By their office they were the protec- 
tors of the law, the defenders of religion, and the 
avengers of all crimes, especially idolatry. Fickle- 
ness, to a great extent, seemed to mark their 
national character. By their continual proneness 
to sin, they exposed themselves to the ravages of 
their enemies, and the loss of their liberties, and 
remained in this condition until another chief Mag- 
istrate was raised up, with superior qualifications, 
to deliver them. Their history shews us, that the 
best form of government, and the most wholesome 
laws will not secure national prosperity without 
proper education, and moral and religious principle 
generally diffused throughout the mass of the peo- 
ple. We boast of our civil institutions, and seem 
to feel as if they could preserve us in defiance of 
our follies and sins, but we may learn, when it is 
too late, that knowledge, and moral and religious 
principle are the stable foundations of a prosper- 
ous government, and that a wise and equitable 
constitution will not save us under the sway of an 
ignorant and infidel majority, and ungodly admin- 
istrators. 

At the time Samson came to the administration 
of public affairs, the nation had been under the 
oppression of the Philistines forty years. He was 
a man, every way, of an extraordinary character. 
In his birth, in his life, and in his death, he was 
distinguished by peculiarities. His birth was pre- 
dicted by a visit of an angel to his parents. Hav- 
ing received so great and unexpected a gift, in the 

12 



178 MIRACLES OF SAMSON. 

exercise of their grateful and pious feelings, they 
dedicated him to God, as a perpetual Nazarite for 
life. A Nazarite, under the ancient law, was a 
person engaged by a vow, to abstain from all 
intoxicating liquors, to let his hair grow, and not 
approach the dead. This vow generally lasted 
eight days, sometimes a month, and sometimes 
during their lives. At the expiration of the time 
certain prescribed sacrifices and libations were 
offered, and the person was freed from the obliga- 
tion. Perpetual Nazarites, as Samson and John 
the baptist, were consecrated by their parents, and 
continued all their lives in this state. 

Manoah and his wife showed their gratitude, 
and left a memorial of their piety, by devoting 
their first born and only son to God, in the public 
service of the church and the state, and gave him 
such an education, doubtless, as was calculated to 
fit him for the station which he was designed to 
fill. God has often accepted such offerings at the 
hand of parents, and prepared them by his grace 
for his service, and his providence opened for them 
extensive fields of usefulness in which to employ 
their talents and acquirements, for the good of man 
and the glory of God. 

What better, or more becoming can you do with 
the best gift that heaven has bestowed upon you, 
than to dedicate it to God, from whom you have 
received it? God, under the original arrangement 
of the Israelites, when he slew the first born of 
Egypt, claimed the first born son of every family 
to be devoted to the priesthood. This arrange- 
ment was afterwards changed, so as to take a 
whole tribe in its place. By this God teaches the 
world that his claim is first in order, and first in 



MIRACLES OF SAMSON. 179 

importance. It is an inquiry which every pious 
parent should honestly make in reference to his 
son, In what business or occupation is it the Lord's 
will that he should serve him? In what way can 
he in the best manner glorify God, and serve his 
generation? And this question is not to be decided 
by ascertaining the most profitable pursuit, or that 
which will be the most productive of ease, or pleas- 
ure, or honor. How few parents honestly put the 
question to themselves, whether God has a claim 
on them, to devote their sons to the service of the 
church, or their daughters to teach the heathen the 
word of God and the way of salvation. Most feel 
that their children are born to serve in the ordinary 
routine of this world's business, as a matter of course, 
without once seriously inquiring whether the Lord 
has need of them in some other less frequented 
service, or thinking of educating them in such a 
way as would fit them for a wider scope of useful- 
ness. If mankind would be prepared for extensive 
usefulness in any pursuit, they must be impressed 
with its importance in their infancy, and trained to 
it in their youth. If there was no more care taken 
to impress the youthful mind, and train it to the 
business of agriculture and domestic economy, than 
there is usually to impress it with the importance 
of persona] engagement, and self-denial^ and con- 
secration in the service of God, to carry forward the 
great interests of the Redeemer's kingdom, soon 
there would be few persons skilled in such business, or 
inclined to submit to its ever- recurring toil, and civ- 
ilized society would soon sink into a barbarous state. 
If the last and best of all the judges of Israel is to be 
furnished, it is by being devoted to the Lord before 
he is born, and lent to the Lord afterwards as long 



180 MIRACLES OF SAMSON. 

as he lived. If the chief minister of the Gentiles 
is to turn the heathen from the error of their ways, 
it is by the Lord controlling the talents and the 
education which he had perfected by the direction 
and expense of his parents, at the schools of Tar- 
sus a^d Jerusalem. If Timothy is the first of the 
evangelists, it is because his mother, and his grand- 
mother, taught him the Scriptures from a child, 
w r hich, by faith in Christ, made him wise unto sal- 
vation. If Moses is to be the deliverer of his 
afflicted brethren from an oppressive tyranny, their 
future law-giver, and most distinguished prophet, 
it is because God has taken an education given for 
another purpose, and sanctified it to himself. And, 
if Israel is to be delivered from forty years oppres- 
sion of the Philistines, the w T ay is to be prepared 
for it by the devotion of Samson, by his parents, to 
be a perpetual Nazarite. And how knowest thou, 
to whom God has given children, that by consecra- 
ting them as you ought, and educating them as you 
ought, you may not be preparing one like Moses, to 
conduct his brethren to the land of promise ; like 
Samson, to put forth his strength to rescue his cap- 
tivated countrymen; like Samuel, to judge his peo- 
ple; or, like Paul, to carry the Gospel far hence 
among the Gentiles? Certain it is, that if you do 
not your part, you have no reason to expect God 
to do what is appropriately his, and yours also. 

With more than a million and a half of children 
on the school list in the United States, enjoying 
not even the advantages of a common school, with 
more than one hundred and thirty-five thousand 
annually passing by age out of the school list, w r ho 
can neither read nor write, to be the fathers and 
mothers of our future citizens, already a mass of 



MIRACLES OF SAMSON. 



181 



uneducated ignorance sufficient to turn the balance 
of power in the election of the chief officers of the 
government, and which it is continually the inter- 
est of a heated party policy to enlist on its side. _ If 
you add to this the great and increasing dereliction 
of moral principle in the community, the painful 
manifestation of it often by public functionaries 
high in power, together with the uneducated, and 
often unprincipled hordes which are annually flock- 
ing into these States, from the worst classes of 
Europe, many of them the sworn subjects of the 
despot at Rome, who can never throw off their 
allegiance there, without throwing off their reli- 
gion ; when, I say, you take but a slight view of 
things as they exist in this hitherto favored land, is 
there not reason to fear, and motives enough this 
side of the considerations of a future and heavenly 
nature, to induce every parent to prepare his off- 
spring to act their part well in the future history of 
his country. 

But, how encouraging is it, and how certain is a 
favorable result, when God himself interposed by 
his special grace, and his extraordinary gifts, to 
qualify the young for stations of influence and 
public usefulness. When he gives evidence that 
he is favoring the benevolent desires of the pious 
parent, and accepting the consecration at his 
hands. When it can be said, as it is here said of 
Samson, "The child grew and the Lord blessed 
him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to move 
him." 

How enrouraging is the prospect of a useful 
manhood and a fruitful old age, when the childhood 
and youth are blessed with distinguishing grace 
and peculiar gifts. When, like the Savior, he 



182 MIRACLES OF SAMSON. 

grows in favor, both with God and man. When, 
with the growing strength of body, there is a cor- 
responding growth of mind, and with the expansion 
of the intellect, there is an equal filling it with use- 
ful knowledge; and when with the increase of 
knowledge there is an equal improvement of the 
moral feelings, and thus the vigor of vouth come 
under the control of a renovated heart. When the 
youthful exploits are not feats of mischief, which 
show how much society have to fear from them, 
when they acquire the strength and influence of 
manhood, but such as give hopeful promise of 
blessing to mankind with their growing ability. 

It is not unusual for young men to attempt 
useless displays of bodily strength, and to pride 
themselves in their intellectual vigor, if they are 
able to surpass their rivals ; but it is only when 
strength is directed to useful ends, that its exercise 
is praiseworthy, and this will be done toward the 
most worthy objects only when it is influenced by 
the Spirit of God. 

The youthful strength and courage of Samson 
were fired with a becoming zeal for the deliverance 
of the church of his ancestors, from an idolatrous 
influence, and burned with a proper indignation in 
view of the oppressions which his countrymen suf- 
fered; and he gave early indications of something 
great to be expected from him, when all his pow- 
ers would be fully matured. These youthful feats, 
which he performed in the camp of Dan, were pre- 
sages of what his manhood would be among the 
hosts of the Philistines. He himself was to be a 
host against the enemies of God and true religion. 
He was to fight the battles for Israel single handed; 
and for his personal strength and prowess was to 



MIRACLES OF SAMSON. 



183 



be the most remarkable of the human race. So 
that his is only another name for strength where 
Bible story is known, and in Greek and Roman 
fable, Hercules answers to him, and shews how 
much heathen literature has corrupted the narra- 
tives of the Bible, and how much their poets are 
dependent for their sublime allusions to hints from 
the truths of Scripture. But in reviewing the 
achievements of distinguished men, either in the 
church or state, we are liable to overlook the pecu- 
liar agency of God in preparing the instruments, 
and working by them, to produce the results at 
which we wonder. Every child is interested in the 
story of Samson, and amazed at his strength. The 
strength which he shewed is conceived to be his, as 
every other man's is. The answer to the question, 
which is learned in the nursery, "Who was the 
strongest man," contributes to this idea. This 
notion of childhood, that the strength of Samson 
resided in his own nerves and muscles, is often, 
perhaps, [not removed by years. This is, however, 
plainly against the evidence of the narrative. His 
natural strength was probably no more than that 
of other men. The power by which he did those 
wonderful things, is directly attributed to God, and 
recorded as being obtained on certain occasions by 
prayer, and that which was the case once, was 
probably the case in every instance. The first evi- 
dence of his youthful power is attributed to the 
Spirit of the Lord. And when he rent the lion, as 
he would have rent a kid, it was because the Spirit 
of the Lord came mightily upon him, by which his 
powers were raised to an unwonted pitch of ener- 
gy. When he went down to Askelon, and slew 
thirty men of them, it is said the Spirit of the 



184 



MIRACLES OF SAMSON. 



Lord came upon him. And again, when the Phil- 
istines shouted against him, the Spirit of the Lord 
came mightily upon him, and the cords on his arms 
became as flax that was burnt with fire, and then 
with a jaw bone he slew a thousand men. When 
he was athirst, he prayed, and the Lord opened a 
fountain in Lehi. When he took hold of the pil- 
lars of Dagon's temple, he did the same. It was 
the same Spirit which wrought the miracles of the 
New Testament, that wrought these. Samson 
was the instrument only, as the apostles were 
when they said to the cripple, "arise and walk." 
From which we may learn, that the Spirit was in 
the Old, as well as in the New Testament church, 
both in his miraculous and sanctifying influences. 
As the strength of Samson was lost when he lost 
his hair, and was restored with the regaining of the 
same, it may seem to some, that it was the source 
of his strength. But the true idea seems to be, 
that his extraordinary power was connected with 
his preserving his vow of Nazariteship, of which 
the loss of it was a proof of violation. And with 
his returning hair, and returning repentance, God 
again showed his approbation of him, by working 
a miracle by him, and overthrowing thousands of 
Dagon's worshipers. 



REMARKS. 

First, In looking at the history of this extra- 
ordinary man, the inquiry may occur to some, 
why an individual of so many irregularities, and 
inconsistencies, should have been made the instru- 
ment of so much miraculous agency. To this we 
reply, gifts and graces are two things, not always 
united. Many will say to him in that day, " Hav§ 



MIRACLES OF SAMSON. 185 

we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name 
have cast out devils?" To whom he will say, "I 
never knew you." But with all the irregularities 
of Samson's life, it seems necessary to believe on 
the authority of the apostle Paul, (Heb. 11,) that 
he was the subject of saving faith; and if so, must 
have repented and been forgiven. 

Second, From this view of his character an 
objection may arise against the reality of religion 
itself, But instead of this, it should be improved 
rather as a proof of the dreadful depravity of 
human nature; that is capable of grievious sin in 
spite of the distinguished gifts bestowed upon it, 
and in opposition even to the grace received. And 
it should teach us to enlarge the circle of our 
christian charity, and not condemn professed breth- 
eren, without mercy, for one sin, unless we have 
certain evidence of continued impenitence. A 
christian of large experience once said, If I get to 
heaven, I shall be disappointed in two respects — In 
not seeing some there that I expect, and in seeing 
some there I did not expect. 

Third, This narrative may be abused by some 
backsliding professor, to indulge in sin. But let 
such remember the loss of Samson's strength, his 
turning the mill stones in the prison, the loss of his 
eyes, and his being the object of the ridicule of 
thousands of the ungodly, and the certain forfeit- 
ure of the favor of God, till he returns by a bitter 
repentance. 

Fourth, Let sinners remember that no revelry 
upon the faults of christians will secure them. 
These thousands made merry with Samson, and 
plunged into hell. 



LECTURE XXI, 

HAIN WITHHELD. ELIJAH AND THE WIDOW PROVIDED 

FOR. 

"And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, 
said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I 
stand, there shall not be dew nor rain the se years, but according to 
my word. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get 
thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook 
Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt 
drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee 
there. So he went, and did according untu the word of the Lord: 
for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and 
bread and flesh in the evening: and he drank of the brook." 

1 Kings 17: 1—6. 

In the reign of Solomon, the kingdom of Israel 
reached the zenith of its power. Then they 
obtained the full possession of their inheritance, 
and according to the word of the Lord to Abra- 
ham, they possessed the gates of their enemies* 
Bat it is true of nations, as of indviduals, that 
their prosperity destroys them. Man in honor 
abideth not. 

In the days of that distinguished prince, the 
glory to which the nation had been exalted began 
to be clouded. Like the sun, it no sooner arose to 
the meridian than it begun to decline, and the 
darkness of night succeeded. The first moving 
cause to this, was the defection of Solomon him- 
self. By foreign influence he was led astray from 
the pure worship of Jehovah, and went after the 
idols of the nations. This sowed the seeds of 
future calamity. Sin when it is finished bringeth 



RAIN WITHHELD. 



187 



forth death. Such is the close connection between 
rulers and their subjects, that if they depart from 
the law of the Lord, the people are influenced by 
their example, and suffer the consequences of their 
sins. In the days of his son and successor, ten 
parts of the nation revolted, and made Jeroboam 
their king. Thus, according to the threatening, 
the kingdom was rent and given to his servant. 
No sooner was he exalted to power, than influ- 
enced by a party policy, he contrived to keep his 
subjects from the influence of the tribe of Judah, 
the teaching of the priesthood, and the influence 
of the solemn festivals of Jerusalem. He provided 
two golden calves, as objects of worship, to Israel. 
This, which perhaps was intended at first as no 
more than a political expedient, to secure the 
strength and stability of his kingdom, proved the 
occasion of corrupting, and at last of utterly des- 
troying it. Under a succession of base and wicked 
princes, and in spite of frequent and solemn 
warnings of the prophets, they became more 
more and corrupt, till they were carried away 
captive, and placed in different parts of the Assy- 
rian empire. 

Among the worst of these princes, rolling on 
the tide of corruption to this memorable disaster, 
was Ahab, who sold himself to work iniquity. As 
the fountain of this evil was opened in the time of 
Solomon, by the influence of foreign women 
becoming the wives of Judah's king; so the torrent 
rose to its height by the influence of Jezebel, the 
daughter of an idolatrous king. Female influence, 
retiring and unostentatious as it is, deformed the 
fair kingdom of Israel, and covered it with the 
sable mantle of mourning, as it spoiled the bowers 



188 



RAIN WITHHELD. 



of Eden at first, and expelled its happy occupants 
into a world of misery. 

That people are still wanting important grounds 
for their public security and general happiness, 
though their garners may be full, affording all 
manner of store; though their sheep bring forth 
thousands and ten thousands in their streets, unless 
their sons be as plants grown up in their youth, 
and their daughters also as corner-stones, polished 
after the similitude of a palace. "Happy is that 
people that is in such a case. Yea, happy is 
that people whose God is the Lord." But, if 
individuals or nations will corrupt themselves, and 
depart farther from God, he does not usually leave 
them to pursue their downward course to ruin, 
without throwing obstructions in the way of sin, 
and by his providence, or by his word, warning 
them of the fatal termination of their course. In 
the worst of times God has raised up faithful wit- 
nesses to testify to his truth, and warn even those 
high in authority, that there is a God who is higher 
than they, and will bring upon them the judgments 
they deserve. The best of men have been raised 
up in the worst of times. Thus the care of God 
for his church has been manifested, the cause of 
the Redeemer has been preserved, and has tri- 
umphed, and the gates of hell have not prevailed 
against it. Such was the time Elijah ministered. 
Such the extraordinary character of that intrepid 
prophet. Almost every thing that is said of him, is 
out of the ordinary course. He is presented to notice 
without introduction. So far as record of his con- 
nection is concerned, he is like Melchizedek with- 
out father or mother. The first that is seen of him, 
he breaks the quiet of i^hab's (Israel's) apostacy, 



RAIN WITHHELD. 189 

like the thunder from the overhanging cloud of 
vengeance; or like the earthquake, to make them 
fear the opening gulf beneath them. "There shall 
not be dew nor rain these years, but according to 
my word." He speaks as if heaven and earth 
were under his control- — as if he had power to shut 
heaven in the days of his testimony. 

The Chinese religion makes pretension to sup- 
port from its many miracles; but they are always 
reported as being performed in some remote region, 
where those whose faith is demanded in them has 
no opportunity of testing their truth. Roman 
Catholics pretend to continued miracles, to procure 
the reverence of the ignorant for their false doc- 
trines and deceitful practices; but they are not 
submited to the examination of the multitude. 
But who in Israel could not know whether the rain 
or the dew fell for three years and a half? or who 
of them would not know whether the record of 
such a fact was true? Who under the garb of a 
reprover for sin, would speak in a style so presump- 
tious, unless under the influence of Him who holds 
the waters as in the hollow of his hand? Or how 
could such an event come to pass, unless He whom 
all nature obeys, co-operates with the prediction, 
or the prayer of a man? And God would not 
interpose to seal up the waters of the firmament, 
unless some bold infraction had been made upon 
the laws of his moral government, and some extra- 
ordinary expedient was necessary to reform the 
guilty, or punish them for their sins, as a warning 
to others. The laws of the material world have 
often been made to stand in suspense, or abandon 
their established order, for the sake of establishing 
the order of the moral kingdom, which had 



190 



RAIN WITHHELD. 



been broken contrary to command. Thus, inani- 
mate nature, always abiding by its maker's orders, 
whether to continue or change, becomes not only 
a reprover to man, its intelligent observer, but also 
a powerful agent at the bidding of Providence, to 
punish him for being less obedient than itself. 
Thus God calls, "Hear, O heavens; and give ear, 
O earth; for the Lord hath spoken: I have nour- 
ished and brought up children, and they have 
rebelled against me." At the mouth of these two 
witnesses man's condemnation will be established, 
and especially those who have been dignified with 
the title of his children, and have dishonored the 
privileged relation. 

So long as things progress according to the 
prescribed order in the moral kingdom, there is no 
violation of the established and harmonious action 
of the material kingdom. All the rupture and 
derangement apparent in the natural laws of 
being, were preceded by a moral derangement, and 
are to be accounted for by it. Were it not for 
this, all nature would still present a delightful har- 
mony, and each of its movements be productive of 
happiness only to man, its moral overseer. But, 
because he has been in the fault, who ought of all 
nature to have been the brightest example of rec- 
titude to his Maker's laws, the heavens curse the 
earth, and the earth curses him. The sun scorches 
him by day, and the moon blasts him by night. He 
inhales disease by his breath, drinks it in the water, 
and eats it with his food. The heavens over him 
become as brass, and the earth as iron, that be- 
tween the scorching side? of this capacious furnace 
he may be melted into repentance; or if dying in 
the process without amendment, may be forced 



RAIN WITHHELD. 



191 



into an abode where moral order is no more, and 
where every natural law is so distorted from its 
original use, as to be painted with poison, and 
armed with pain, in an unaleviated and endless 
succession of miseries. 

As an effort to restore to order the moral system 
which man had so greatly deranged, God intro- 
duced a system of extraordinary means with the 
descendants of Abraham. He commenced the dis- 
plays of his power in their behalf, in the bosom of 
the most powerful of the nations, and made the 
visible phenomena of nature yield to the accomplish- 
ment of his purpose, in such public circumstan- 
ces, that the world had to be the spectators, or the 
hearers of the report. Having thus brought forth 
a people singularized by miraculous agency, and 
impressed upon imperishable tablets the obliterated 
moral code, and by a series of judgments and mer- 
cies, made it as indelible upon their minds as upon 
stone, having placed them in the centre of the 
nations, and hedged them in by laws, to preserve 
them from the sinful practices of their neighbors, 
and keep unsullied the sacred deposit committed to 
their trust, the laws of nature are not now inter- 
rupted, miraculous agency is not called into exer- 
cise, and for two centuries and a half the experi- 
ment is made with the moral law in the statute 
book, in the ark of the covenant, and on the lips of the 
priesthood, impressed by the sacrifices of the altar, to 
see how faithfully they would exemplify it. But, alas! 
for man! He always proves faithful to the deprav- 
ity of his nature, so that law, and privilege, and 
instruction, and chastisement, are insufficient bar- 
riers to restrain his propensity to wrong, and con- 
fine him within the limits of duty. And now the 



192 RAIN WITHHELD. 

abominations of the heathen are introduced into the 
fair heritage, which had been conquered by mira- 
cle. The calves of Dan, and Bethel, like the 
object of the worship of the Egyptian task-mas- 
ters, are become the object of the religious respect 
of ten parts of the liberated and heaven-distin- 
guished people. A schism has taken place among 
the compacted sons of Jacob. Ephraim is vexing 
Judah, and Judah Ephraim. The worst of men, and 
a queen of heathen parentage and idolatrous edu- 
cation, sway the septre over ten tribes of the 
covenant people : while priests not of the conse- 
crated tribe, not buds of Aaron's rod, but of the 
lowest of the people, serve at the altar. Now 
there is need for a reformer in the land of vines 
and fig trees, as there was for a law-giver in the 
wilderness. Again there is need of miracles to 
reform from a habit of sin, as there was then to 
commence a habit of duty; and Elijah must con- 
front the votaries of Baal, as Moses had to confound 
the magicians of Egypt, and Jehovah has again to 
put forth miraculous agency upon the air, the 
clouds, the earth, the waters, the grass of the 
fields, the fowls, the meal, the oil, the soul of the 
departed, to authenticate the commission of the 
reformer, as of the law-giver, and convince an 
apostate people, that He, who was the God of their 
fathers, and not the sun, was the living God, and 
their God. O, man! who can portray thy deprav-r 
ity? who can describe thy sinfulness? It is seen in 
crimson hues in the blood of thy Savior. Its oflfen- 
siveness is imagined in the fires of eternity. Let 
backsliders consider their ways and turn to the 
Lord. Let sinners tremble and seek pardon. The 
word of the prophet has gone forth. His prayer is 



RAIN WITHHELD. 193 

made. It is the effectual, fervent prayer, which 
availeth much. The firmament feels the influence, 
the clouds disperse, the sun pours down his arid 
rays upon the parched earth, the night withholds 
its moisture, and the powers of a haughty monarch 
are useless to turn back the sentence. J\one of 
the vanities of the Gentiles can give rain. To pre- 
vent application to him who is the instrument in 
bringing on the calamity, he is taken out of the 
way, and ordered into seclusion, that the curse, 
unmitigated, may fall upon the devoted land. 
Wretched indeed is the condition of that individ- 
ual, or community, that will not seek God, and 
from whom the godly are taken way and forbid- 
den to intercede. But he who subjects himself to 
want and persecution, by doing the will of the 
Lord, will not be forsaken by his God. The birds 
of prey will supply what is withheld by an ungrate- 
ful people. It may not be the luxuries of Ahab's 
table, but the necessaries of life — the bread and 
water will be sure. 

The fear of privation, and loss, is often made an 
excuse for the neglect of duty. But they that 
trust in the Lord shall not want any good thing. 
" Trust in the Lord, and do good, and verily thou 
shalt be fed." When one resource fails, another 
will be supplied; when the brook Cherith dries up, 
the widow's oil, and barrel of meal will be multi- 
plied. If natural means fail, miracles are inexaust- 
ible, when God undertakes to punish his enemies, 
or favor his servants. The house of a poor and 
heathen widow, becomes the home of the prophet 
of whom Israel was not worthy. Gentile hospital- 
ity supports him whose service Jewish avarice was 
unwilling to reward. They shall come from the 

13 



194 RAIN WITHHELD. 

east and the west, while the children of the king- 
dom are cast out. There are last which shall oV 
first, and the first last. The presence of the man 
of God blesses the house of an obscure Zidonian, 
while neither rain nor dew falls upon the dwell- 
ing places of Israel's nobles. The meal is here 
increased according to the demand,, without labor, 
as bountifully as it w r ould be matured by vegetable 
growth and fruitful showers. Disease and death, 
the effects of famine are allowed to go on in the 
families of Israel, without the consoling voice of 
the man of God to comfort the afflicted, while* 
here., death is arrested after he has done his 
work, and the prey taken out of his hand and re- 
stored to healthful life. "He that giveth a cup of 
water to a disciple in the name of a disciple, shall 
not loose his reward." How sovereign is God in 
the bestowment of his gifts. Many widows, says 
Christ, w r ere in Israel in the time of Elias, but to 
none of them was he sent; but he was sent to Se- 
rephta, to one of another nation. Yet, his sover- 
eign favors are often connected with dispositions in 
the receivers, which show the propriety of the 
gifts. Perhaps there was no one in all Israel, who 
would have given the prophet the first portion of a 
cake already too scanty, and the last to be expected 
before death by starvation. "He that sow r eth 
bountifully, shall reap also bountifully. The lib- 
eral soul shall be made fat. There is that with- 
holdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to pov- 
erty." To him that hath shall be given, when 
he make a charitable use of what he hath; but from 
him that hath not shall be taken away even that 
which he seemeth to have. Had this widow learn- 
ed the improved style of modern selfishness, she 



RAIN WITHHELD. 195 

would, with apparently the best reason, have said, 
"Charity begins at home. When I and my son 
have eaten sufficiently, and there is more than we 
need, I will give thee; but to give away first 
what is too little, is too much even for charity to 
expect. But she had not learned so easily to say, 
"can't" when "wont" was meant. She did what 
she could, with the little she had; and it increased 
not before, but after she began to distribute, and 
failed not till the Lord sent rain upon the earth. 
She supported the prophet two years, by her own 
contributions, and had more at the end of the 
period than at the beginning, besides the company 
of this man of God, and the restoration to life of 
her only son. Imitate this example and thou too 
shalt be blessed. 

In reviewing the narrative of this case, you mav 
find evidences with which to compare yourself, and 
ascertain your piety. Elijah's piety sustained him 
amid general degeneracy. It made him a bold 
reprover of sin. It made him deny himself, and 
trust Providence for the provisions of to-morrow, 
that he might do the Lord's will. It made him 
cease his ministry among the people, whose good 
he earnestly sought. It made him a man of pray- 
er; and it made him prevalent with God, and 
mighty among men. 

Second,- You may see the sin and danger of 
departing from your covenant engagements with 
God. 

Third, The influence of prayer. 

Fourth, The young are here reminded of (feath. 

Fifth, That there is a resurrection. Of this 
truth, this widow's son is the first pledge. 



LECTURE XXII. 

BAAl/s WORSHIPERS CONFOUNDED. — INDECISION REBUKED. 

"Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt-sacrifice, 
and the wood, and the stone, and the dust, and licked up the water 
that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell 
on their fac< s: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, 
he is the God."— 1 Kings 18 : 38, 39. 

" And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt 
ye between two opinions'? if the Lord he God, follow him; but if 
Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word." 

lb. 21. 

No people could be more strictly guarded by 
laws, than the Jewish nation were against idolatry. 
The person guilty of this offence, subjected himself 
to the punishment of death. The nearest relations 
were required to become informers upon each other, 
and have the guilty put to death. The husband 
was not to conceal the wife, nor the father the 
child; neither were they to spare them. But laws 
will not be executed beyond the integrity of the 
people. They become a dead letter in the statute 
book, just in proportion as corruption of principle 
and general immorality prevail, It was forseen by 
Moses, that false prophets would arise, and that vig- 
orous efforts would be used to seduce the heart of 
the people from the pure worship of the one God. 
He therefore warned them not to hearken to them, 
though they supported their pretensions by mira- 
cles. If the sign or wonder came to pass, which 
was to prove the propriety of worshiping other 
gods, they were not to regard it, but consider that 
it was a deception practiced upon them, and per- 



197 

mitted as a a trial of them, whether they would 
love the Lord with all their heart, and soul. 
(Deut. 13.) 

There are certain principles of religion so firmly 
established, and supported by such conclusive evi- 
dence, that we should rather believe that a miracle 
wrought to contradict them was a deception, than 
that they were untrue. The truth of certain things 
may be so firmly established, that no evidence can 
invalidate it. If a miracle were wrought to con- 
vince you, that by the light of the sun you did not 
perceive the beauty of the colors before you, it 
would be no reason why you should disbelieve what 
you saw. If what pretended to be a miracle were 
wrought to prove that there never was such a per- 
son in these states as General Washington, you 
would still be bound to believe the fact. No well 
attested miracle, however, has ever been performed 
to weaken the evidence of a well established truth. 
There are certain fundamental truths of natural 
religion, which commend themselves to the con- 
science and reason of mankind. The first of these is, 
that there is a God, and that he should be served. In 
proof of his existence and providence, miracles 
were first wrought. Had they been performed to 
prove that there was no God, or that there were 
many gods, it would have been doing violence to 
reason; for she naturally inquires for a first and 
adequate cause for all things, and having found one 
such, it is contrary to her decisions to admit any 
more. In this trial of the false prophets with Eli- 
jah, an effort was made, by a miracle, to disprove 
this fundamental truth of all true religion, that 
Jehovah is the one only, living and true God. Had 
they succeeded so far, that the spectators could not 



198 baal's worshipers com funded. 

have detected the deception, still, according to the 
decision of Moses, they would have been bound to 
believe this truth; and if there was really no decep- 
tion, and a miracle had truly been performed, we 
should rather believe that it was performed by the 
power of the devil, by the permission of God, than 
to believe that it established the power of idol gods, 
or that they had a claim on our devotion. But 
they did not succeed, so that our faith is not put to 
this trial. 

It is remarkable, how often God has graciously 
condescended to demonstrate his existence to the 
faith of an unbelieving world. Baal, the god of the 
heathen, had got visible possession of the land 
of Israel, and the hearts of the descendants of 
the father of the faithful. The priests scattered 
through the ten tribes being brought into disrepute, 
by the prevalence of idolatry, rather than retain 
their office and possessions, by conforming to tha 
false religion, had voluntarily forsaken them, and 
taken up their residence in the tribe of Judah. The 
ordinary prophets are put to death at the instiga- 
tion of Jezebel, or, are concealed, and supported by 
Obediah. Elijah is in retirement in the house of 
the widow of Zerephath. The prophets of Baal, 
and of the groves, are multiplied, and supported by 
royal favor. Nothing from the old established 
institutions of religion opposes any obstacle to the 
extension of the false faith, and the sway of the 
new religion; yet, God has not renounced his rela- 
tion, and given up his claim to this portion of his 
apostatized inheritance. Obediah, who greatly 
feared the Lord from his youth, is at court; the 
true prophets who survived are ready to come 
from their concealment, when an opportunity is 



199 

afforded; Elijah is waiting the heavenly order, to 
come from his retreat, and thunder in the ears of 
.the tyrant; providence is at work in the kingdom of 
nature, though the accredited ministers of the Lord 
are banished from the altar; the heavens refuse to 
drop down fatness upon a land whose inhabitants of- 
fer praise to an idol; the water refuses to give drink 
to assuage the thirst of beasts and men; and the 
presure of want reaches even to the royal resi- 
dence, and Ahab himself is forced into a search 
for the running stream, and for Elijah, the object 
of his hatred. The godly, those supposed troub- 
lers of the wicked in their prosperity, are often 
sought for in distress? when all earthly resources 
fail besides; but even then, it is often that the dis- 
tress may be removed, rather than that they may 
see their sin, which is the cause of their suffering, 
and repent and forsake it Elijah, however, em- 
braces the opportunity to confound the idol, and 
put to confusion his worshipers. The trial suc- 
ceeds, and according to the admission of the false 
worshipers, "Jehovah is confessed to be the only 
God, and the prophets of the false God, according 
to the law, are put to death. So triumphant is 
truth, when fairly brought to the test with error; 
so manifest the demonstration of the attributes of 
Jehovah, when brought in competition with the 
god's of the heathen; and, so manifest the differ- 
ence between true and false religion— the religion 
of God, and the religion of man. The contest 
between these two religions, has been coeval with 
the history of the world, and run parallel with the 
generations of men. We see its early manifesta- 
tions in the family of Adam. God prescribed one 
religion; man another. Cain brought of the first fruits 



200 baal's worshipers confounded. 

of the ground ; this was man's religion. Abel brought 
of the firstlings of the flock ; this was the religion 
of God. The one relied upon his own device; the 
other upon the wisdom of God. The one depended 
upon the merit of his works ; the other upon the 
blood of atonement. The one was accepted; the 
other not. The earliest general manifestation of 
the religion of man, was paganism. This has num- 
bered more votaries, in the history of this world's 
depravity, than any other, and is now the most 
numerous. Its common manifestation is idolatry. 
The vulgar belief of this system supposes an indefi- 
nite number of gods, ascribes to them characters 
most unworthy of a deity, such as theft, murder, 
adultery, and all manner of crimes. This theol- 
ogy, as most improved by the ancient philosophers, 
supposed that there was but one supreme god, 
(which they commonly make to be the sun, or at 
least an emblem of him,) out at too great a dis- 
tance to mind the affairs of the world, therefore, 
they devised certain demons, which they consid- 
ered as mediators between the supreme god and 
man. The worship of this idolatry, by the writer 
of Israel's apostacy, is called a sacrificing unto 
devils, and is included in Paul's allusion, speaking 
of some who give heed to seducing spirits, and doc- 
trines of devils. Thus, Satan has had not only 
more of the service of the men of this world than 
God, but also more of their religious devotion. 
How wonderful, as well as humiliating, is this fact. 
Especially does this appear strange, when it is con- 
sidered that this form of man's religion imposes 
upon its adherents more self-torture, more expense, 
labor, self-denial, and sacrifice every way, except 
in the forsaking of sin, than the religion of God 



baal's worshipers confounded. 201 

does. It demands, and receives, not only the time, 
the silver and gold, and the cattle upon a thousand 
hills, to adorn its temples, and smoke upon its 
altars, but human life itself groans and expires 
beneath its ponderous wheels, or agonizes upon its 
funeral piles. Yet, these voracious divinities never 
sympathize with suffering humanity, or are satis- 
fied with blood. How different the religion of man 
from the religion of God ! ! 

Another form of man's religion was proposed to 
the world by Mahomet. This was not like the 
other. It was not a system of many gods. It was 
not idolatry. Its fundamental article was, there is 
but one god, and Mahomet is his prophet. The 
revelation which he pretended to give to the world 
was the last, and of the highest authority. It 
forced itself upon the attention of men by the 
sword, for it did not pretend to impress conviction 
by miracles. It acquired an ascendency over a 
great mass of the human mind, and has continued 
its influence twelve hundred years, and still prevails 
in Persia, in Turkey, and in a considerable portion 
of Africa. 

Another of the manifestations of man's religion, 
in modern times, is in the form of Deism, or Infi- 
delity. It professes to believe that there is a God, 
but denies that he has ever given an oral or written 
revelation of his will. It rejects Paganism, and 
places Mahomet and Christ on a level, so far as 
authority to bind the conscience is concerned. It 
takes the light of nature to teach a system of truth 
and duty. The sacrifice of the Pagan, and that of 
Christ, it regards as alike unnecessary and unavail- 
able. It puts itself before God on the original 
ground of law, and treats with God for eternity 



202 baal's worshipers confounded. 

without an atonement, and without an intercessor. 
The Jewish christian, and heathen sacrifices, are 
alike to it the evidences of weakness. It prides 
itself in being free from the common prejudices 
of the race. It professes to regard, as of some 
account, the duties which men owe to one another, 
but makes of no account the duties which are 
peculiarly owed to God. It admits morality into 
its creed, but rejects piety; and clothed with pow- 
er, it persecutes the religious, and tolerates the 
profane. These three forms, Paganism, Mahome- 
tanism, and Infidelity, show man's religion as car- 
ried to its highest state of perfection; and they are 
alike in this, that they have no Savior for a ruined 
world and have no provision for the renovation of 
the soul. Such are the wretched provisions, and 
gloomy prospeots, man makes for himself, when he 
undertakes to provide for the well being of his 
soul, and for eternity. But, where the religion of 
God is professedly received, the religion of man is 
continually mixing itself with it, and polluting it. 
Some of the strong features of paganism and infi- 
delity, are ever intruding themselves into the chris- 
tian sanctuary, and defiling the sacrifice. While 
the infinite and uncreated Jehovah is not brought 
within the reach of human sensation by a material 
image, he is divested of his essential nature as effec- 
tually by an erroneous doctrinal statement, or a per- 
verted conception of his character; and even the 
grosser forms of paganism have been cherished in the 
church which claims to be only true and universal, 
and the invisible God is represented in his earthly 
temples by metal, and wood, and canvass, and at 
this hour the demand and reverence for such arti- 
clas of man's manufacture is increasing, not only in 



CONFOUNDED. 203 

Romanism, but in English and American Episco- 
pacy; and the unmeaning mummery which attends 
the image worship is not diminished, while the 
decayed bones of some supposed worthy dead, 
and fragments of the imagined cross excite the 
spirit of devotion, and the souls of the departed 
answer the place of the demons of the pagan, to 
become intercessors with the Supreme God. 

Infidelity, too, which is one of the more perfect 
forms of man's religion, is every where doing its 
work, where the religion of God is known and pro- 
fessedly received. Reason, which is the presiding 
Genius in this system, comes to revelation without 
laying aside any of its claims to dictatorship. It 
culls and mars the heavenly record to suit itself; 
and when its system is complete, it bears more of 
the impress of man, than of God. Its aim is to 
bring the system of truth and duty down to the 
nature, while the plan of God's religion is to bring 
the nature up to the system. Man's religion makes 
its prescriptions on the supposition, that the race is 
less in spiritual ruin than it is, and more easily 
capable of restoration and perfection; God's reli- 
gion supposes the ruin is complete, and effectual 
deliverance comes only from God, Man's religion, 
with its imperfect views of the difficulty, relies 
much on outward forms and ceremonies, and exter- 
nal applications; God's religion relies more upon 
inward purity, and spiritual renewal. Man's reli- 
gion always depends much on the merit of his 
works; God's upon faith, which worketh by love. 
Full reliance on the one leads to joy, peace, con- 
fidence of acceptance with God, triumph in death, 
and to a happy immortal life; the other at best is 
&ot free from doubt, ends in dispair, and a misera- 



204 baal's worshipers confounded. 

ble eternity. Man's religion is the most popular, 
because the most common, easy, and natural, but is 
worth little here, and nothing hereafter; God's is 
more difficult, but more precious here and here- 
after — it includes every thing desirable. How long 
then, " halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord 
be God, follow him; if Baal, follow him." Which- 
ever has claims to the true religion, embrace it 
with decision, and pursue it with determination. 
Do you say in view of the evidence in behalf of 
the religion of God, and with the spectators of the 
miraculous fire which consumed Elijah's sacrifice, 
"The Lord he is the God" — the religion of the 
Gospel is the only religion for a sinner. Then at 
once choose it, and practice it. If the Lord be 
God, follow him. Be consistent with your avowal. 
The pagan is not only such in theory, but in prac- 
tice. He not only believes in the idol, but professes 
it, and he worships it. The Mussleman not only 
believes in the prophet, but he obeys him at every 
sacrifice. The Infidel not only disbelieves in reve- 
lation, but he acts as if he did. But under the 
Gospel we have the strange exhibition, no where else 
to be seen, of multitudes admitting that the system of 
truth, and duty, presented in scripture, is the only 
rational and safe one; and yet, practically reject- 
ing it, and professedly saying, they desire none of 
its benefits — admitting they are sinners, exposed to 
the very justice and condemnation which the scrip- 
ture declares; and yet unconcerned — acknowledg- 
ing that Christ is the only Savior, and not applying 
to him for salvation — believing that without holi- 
ness they cannot see the Lord, and are uncon- 
cerned to obtain it — that without true religion they 
are going to hell as fast as the moments fly, yet 



baal's worshipers confounded. 205 

making no special effort to escape it ; or, if any 
effort is made, it is as one that halts in going. 
Why this indecison? Is it because there is no 
danger? The danger is intimated by the fire which 
consumed the sacrifice of Elijah, the emblem of the 
consuming justice of God. Nothing within its 
reach could stop its progress. The water about the 
altar was as dry fuel. This which made the Savior 
exclaim on the cross, " I thirst." This justice has 
already kindled the regions of hell, to await the 
lost sinner's coming. 



REMARKS. 

Does not the certainty of the sinner's condition 
becoming more hopeless, require decision? Does 
not the length of time you have already been halt- 
ing afford a reason that it should cease? If your 
case is not soon decided favorably, it will be by 
death and the judgment. While you hesitate, your 
time does not linger, and your condemnation slum- 
bereth not. How long halt ye? Choose ye this 
clay whom ye will serve, 



LECTURE XXIII. 

Elijah's despondency. 

And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and 5 
touched him and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too 
great for thee. And he arose and did eat and drink, and went in 
the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights, unto Horeb 
the mount of Gad. And he said, Go forth and stand upon the 
mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a 
great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the 
rocks, before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and 
after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earth- 
quake :. And after the earthquake a fire ; but the Lord was not in the 
fire ; and after the fire a still small voice. — 1. Kings 19: 7, 8, 11, 12. 

In every individual's history, there are reverses,, 
not only in the providential circumstances of his 
condition, but also in the feelings, and state of his 
mind. The brave do not always shew valor, nor 
the timid cowardice These changes in the state of 
feeling, are not always to be accounted for by the 
difference of the external circumstances. The great- 
est intrepidity is often seen in the most trying 
conditions, while irresolution and discouragement 
are the most manifest where there is little to fear.. 
What is true of the states of the mind in reference 
to ordinary subjects, is also true of its religious 
emotions. If it be the christian's privilege some- 
times to ascend the mount of transfiguration, and to 
behold, with unaccustomed vision, the midiatorial 
glories, as he contemplates the decease which Christ 
accomplished at Jerusalem ; ere he is aware, he has 
to descend into the vales below, and his depression 
is often the greater by its contrast with the elevation 
to which he had been admitted, and the gloom ©f 



Elijah's despondency. 207 

his reversed state of mind, the more deep and insup- 
portable, by comparing it with the brightness of its 
former state. These changes of religious emotion, 
are not always owing to sinful, or even moral causes ; 
but often to bodily constitution, and physical tem- 
perament. 

Such is the intimate connection and constant fel- 
lowship between the soul and body, in the present 
organization, that there must always be a sympathy 
of the one with the other. And if the body through 
which the soul receives its impressions from with- 
out, and also manifests itself, be under the influence 
of nervous derangement, it is as might be supposed, 
if the soul partakes oi it. When such is the cause 
of religious discouragement, it is not so much, more 
grace which the individual needs, as health; not so 
much an increased attention to the means of grace 
as medicine; not so much seclusion for meditation 
and prayer, as exercise, and the diversion of his 
mind to other objects. The remedy should always 
be adapted to the nature of the disease. In the case 
supposed, the disease is more physical than moral, 
and the remedy should be accordingly. But discour- 
agement, seclusion, and inaction, are not always to* 
be referred to an* excusable cause; or to be palliated 
by bodily temperament. A moral delinquency is 
often the main-spring of its motion. Being wrong 
in its cause, discouragement and melancholy are its 
punishment. The best cure for religious discour- 
agement, as prescribed by the best moral physicians, 
is engagement in the duties of vigorous and active 
piety. In administering strength to the weak, the 
soul will get strength itself. If you doubt the 
strength of your graces, the best way to dissipate it r 
is to prove their strength by vigorous action. Noth- 



208 Elijah's despondency. 

ing so well removes the delusion of an individual, 
who has strength sufficient to walk, but thinks he 
cannot through nervous debility, as to put him to 
walking. So, if one doubts his possession of the 
essential christian virtues, let him prove their exist- 
ence by their exercise. If they will not bear to be 
exercised, then he will have good reason to con- 
clude that they are in a feeble or non-existent state. 
He may not hesitate, and protract doubt and des- 
pondency, whether he is possessed of the essential 
grace of christian charity, for instance, and to ascer- 
tain the point, retire for self-examination. A better 
way to prove it is, to go forth at once to the active 
duties of benevolence. In this way, proof will man- 
ifest itself, as in the day-light, and he may leave 
his painful ploddings after it in the invisible recesses 
of his heart In this way, he may bring the case to 
a speedy decision ; for he may easily come to the 
conclusion, that graces which will not bear to be 
exercised, are not worth possessing. But for want 
of vigorously seizing opportunities to do good, for 
consulting and following the weaker passions, and 
less sanctified affections, even good and useful men, 
have often retarded or thrown back the success of a 
good cause ; and public morality and religion, when 
on the very eve of triumph, for want of a final 
stroke, and one more bold and successful step, have 
fallen back for years or generations. 

Who, in reading the history of this distinguished 
prophet but a minute before, would expect, so soon, 
to find him hiding him>elf from the view of man? 
Just now you saw him braving the royal authority, 
combined with the influence of the false prophets 
of a nation, and a general popular support; no sooner 
does he destroy the prophets — the strongest bulwark 



Elijah's despondency. 209 

of that influence with which he had to contend — 
then you see him absconding in the darkness of the 
night, towards the wilderness of Judea. He who 
just now seemed to have the heavens at his com- 
mand, and a kingdom moving at his nod, is sitting 
under a Juniper tree, solitary and disconsolate. He 
who just before, by his prayer, brought the fire of 
heaven to consume the sacrifice, and confound a 
rebellious nation, and opened the flood-gates of the 
firmament to water a thristy land, is now wishing 
for himself that he might die. What has occa- 
sioned this sudden reverse in the feelings of one 
before whom kings were afraid, and false prophets 
died? A wicked woman had threatened his life, 
and all his courage has fled. But why should 
he have been afraid, who was armed with the pan- 
oply of heaven? Why should he flee, in whose 
behalf miraculous agency was exercised'at his bid- 
ding? Why did he not push forward a conquest 
of reform, so auspiciously begun, till Baal had given 
up the ghost in the land of Israel? The christian 
is only what grace makes him. He is valiant in 
God's cause only, when he is so by faith. It is only 
in the exercise of this grace, he can sav to the 
mountain in his way, "Be thou plucked up, and 
cast into the sea," and it obeys him. When this 
faulters, like Samson shorn of his locks, he is weak 
as other men. No display of the power and grace 
of God previously made to us, will be, of itself, an 
effectual security against this weakness on our 
part, or against the violence of the enemies of 
truth on the other. Past conviction of the truth 
and experience of the grace of God, will not secure 
us against the recurrence of future temptation, or be 
a sufficient support under it ; neither will the most 

14 



210 Elijah's despondency. 

convincing evidence of truth, or the most clear dis- 
plays of grace, keep the enemies of the Gospel in 
continued silence, But, its very success the more 
excites the opposition of the hearts of those, who 
are not subdued by its influence. What could have 
been more convincing than the scene between Eli- 
jah and the false prophets? What blessing more 
calculated to melt the stubborn hearts into gratitude* 
than fruitful and bountiful rains upon a country per- 
ishing by three years and a half famine? Who 
would expect the instrument of such a blessing to 
be the object of the deadly hatred of those who 
ow r ed their life and comfort to his interference. But 
such is man; he likes the good when it ministers to 
his pleasure, but hates the giver if he requires him 
to forsake his sins. Thus, he who came in the 
spirit and power of Elijah, the Elias of the New 
Testament, when he came to prepare the way of 
the Lord, and preached repentance, for the king- 
dom of heaven was at hand, exposed himself to the 
rage of the wicked, and was beheaded at the insti- 
gation of a woman. But when the distinguished 
friends of truth, and of God, tremble at the mena- 
cing aspect of their enemies, and leave them to 
occupy the field without further conflict, the tri- 
umph of the wicked is certain, and their final 
destruction sure. Nothing more is necessary to 
secure this, than for the men and means to be 
removed, which they dislike. When the candle- 
sticks are removed, entire darkness succeeds, and 
the blackness of darkness is the result. The ele- 
ments of darkness and light, sin and holiness, hold 
perpetual conflict. The earth is their battle field. 
The righteous and the wicked, those who hold the 
truth, and those who adopt error, the sincere and 



211 

the hypocritical, are the visible contending agents. 
With these on one side, the devil, and his messengers 
of kindred spirit, co-operate; on the other, God and 
his angels. Wickedness pre-occupies the territory, 
backed by all its agencies. Every advance of truth 
and holiness is by conquest — by an aggressive 
movement of righteousness upon sin. Sin only 
asks to be let alone, to make its dominion complete 
and eternal. It need not to call in auxiliary forces 
to secure its victims, if it never be assailed by the 
agents of righteousness. If holiness ever secures 
subjects, it must be the assailant party, and intrude 
upon already occupied territory. Let its agents 
only be dormant, and the dominion of the world to 
sin, is safe. Sin is always more vigilant, and ac- 
tive on the field of conflict, than holiness; is more 
ready, also, to be the assailant. Holiness is an ele- 
ment, in every form of its approach, which is most 
repugnant to sin, and which it repels with the 
whole force of its nature. Sin yields only as it 
dies; and holiness only by the death of its opposer. 
Only let any community of mankind alone, and 
their sinfulness will be complete, and their condem- 
nation sure. Let any sinner have his desire in this 
respect gratified, and his damnation slumbereth not. 
Elijah was, doubtless, aware of this fact, and that 
while men slept, the enemy sowed tares; but human 
nature cannot sustain itself against every discour- 
agement. Hope expires after every effort is tried 
without effect, and the servant of the Lord says, " I 
have labored in vain, and spent my strength for 
naught. Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodg- 
ing-place of way-faring men, that I might leave 
my people, and go from them! for they be all 
adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. Oh 



212 Elijah's despondency. 

that my head were waters, and mine eyes fountains 
of tears, that I might weep day and night. Woe 
is me, for I am as when they have gathered the 
summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vint- 
age, there is no cluster to eat, my soul desireth the 
first ripe fruit. The good man is perished, and 
there is none upright among men." Such have 
been the moanings of many of the Lord's faithful 
servants, and the Juniper tree often suited their 
feelings better than the pulpit. Great as were the 
prophet's discouragements, he, perhaps, was too 
hasty, and did wrong in giving up his people, and 
surrendering himself to despondency. We should 
be very sure that we have the will of the Lord to 
direct us in resigning responsible stations, and for- 
saking that place of trust and privilege in the church 
in which providence has placed us. Yet, how 
few of the professors of modern piety, under 
the ungrateful treatment which he received, would 
not have retired sooner. How common it is for 
those who have borne responsibility, who have 
made sacrifices of time and money for the good of 
others, if it be ill requited, if instead of gratitude, 
they receive ill-will, to feel that they will do no 
more. How often it occurs, in the present state of 
the church, that when every thing is not conducted 
to their mind, for the slightest causes of dissatisfac- 
tion, and especially if any effort is made to correct 
their wrongs by the exercise of the discipline of the 
house of God, that persons retire from the church 
of their adoption, and seek to obtain satisfaction in 
the indulgence of bad passions, and in endeavoring 
to injure the cause they had voluntarily pledged 
themselves to support. How different from this 
was the example of Christ. He never forsook even 



Elijah's despondency. 213 

that church which, by his perfect discernment, he 
pronounced to be a congregation of hypocrites, 
and died under its censure. But, though the prophet 
may have acted imprudently, in seeking seclusion 
at a time when he was not manifestly successful in 
establishing the truth, and in giving himself up to 
melancholy forebodings; yet the Lord did not for- 
sake him, but in that solitary retreat which he had 
selected, to cherish and give utterance to the bitter- 
ness of his spirit, he sent his angel to him with 
food and drink, to support and encourage his dis- 
consolate nature. Upon the strength of this, he 
goes forty days to Horeb, where Moses had lived 
forty days without food before him. Thus the 
giver of the law, and the restorer of the law, 
resembled him who was the end of the law for 
righteousness to every one that believeth, in this, 
that each lived the same length oi time without 
the natural supports of life, and illustrating the 
truth, that man's better life is not by bread alone, 
but by the word of God, and communion with him; 
and that he who will do his will, has bread to eat 
that the world knoweth not of. But God will not 
suffer good and useful men long to remain inactive. 
If they decline their duty from sinful motives, he 
will bring them to repentance, and to discharge it, 
by gentle means, or if more severe are necessary, 
like Jonah, as it were, through the belly of hell. 
The prophet lodged securely in the cleft of the 
rock, perhaps where Moses was when the Lord 
passed by and proclaimed his goodness, and hopes, 
perhaps from this favored spot to be removed to 
heaven, from the strife of men, and an unbelieving 
world. Suddenly he is interrupted by a strong 
wind, which rent the mountain. After this an 



214 Elijah's despondency. 

earthquake, and a fire, producing a scene most 
sublime, and like that which enveloped the mount 
when the law was given, and Israel exceedingly 
feared, and quaked. After this, a still small voice, 
which convinced him the Lord was there, and 
caused hirn to wrap his face in his mantle, in token 
of his deeply felt humility. By this it was design- 
ed that he should be taught, that he should follow 
up the miraculous display of divine agency, with 
the less observed and ordinary means, if the refor- 
mation of Israel would be completed — That mirac- 
ulous agency by which the attention of the world 
was arrested — that the law which thunders guilt 
and condemnation in its awakened ear, are design- 
ed only to prepare the way for the less observed, 
but more powerfully efficacious voice of the Spirit, 
through the Gospel. 



REMARKS. 

We may learn from the subject, 

First, That no displays of the power and grace 
of God, no enjoyment of peculiar privileges, will 
secure us against trials, or, without supports of 
grace, prevent us from showing weakness, or yield- 
ing to sin. The promise is, As thy day is, so shall 
thy strength be; and the command is, Watch, and 
pray that ye enter not into temptation. The les- 
son from example is, That Elijah prevailed with 
heaven, and then fled to repine. Christ partook of 
the Supper before he suffered. Peter the same 
night denied his Lord, and Judas betrayed him. 

Second, That the encouragements to him who is 
jealous for the cause of God, and is ready to be dis- 
couraged by the prevalence of iniquity, are greater 
than he is ready to suppose. In times of general 



Elijah's despondency. 215 

declension, there may be more with him in spirit 
than he imagined. Elijah thought himself left 
alone, while seven thousand were with him, and he 
knew it not. Thus, too, the number of the saved 
at last may exceed expectation, when God's hid- 
den ones shall be brought to light, and the apostle's 
vision be realized., of a great number which no man 
can number, out of every kindred, and nation, and 
people. 

Third, We may learn to rely for this result, not 
so much upon extraordinary, apparently powerful, 
and noisy means, as upon the less observed, ordi- 
nary, and yet more efficacious means of the Gospel, 
attended by the life-giving Spirit of God. The 
most that the storm, or the earthquake can do, even 
when accompanied with fire, is to awaken attention. 
The law itself can do no more than rend the moun- 
tain- It must be the still voice of the Spirit that 
will melt the heart* and whisper to it peace. 



LECTURE XXIV. 



TRANSLATION OF ELIJAH. 



"And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote 
the waters, and they were divided hither and thither; so that they 
two went over on dry ground. And it came to pass, as they still 
went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, 
and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went 
up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elias saw it, and he cried, 
My father, my father ! the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen 
thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own 
clothes, and rent them in two pieces." — 2 Kings 2: 8, 11, 12. 

A brief, and comprehensive view of the transitory 
nature of present things is given us, when it is said 
by the apostle, the things that we see are temporal. 
They had a beginning, and they will have an end. 
If we go up the current of ages that are past,, we 
soon come to a time when they were not; and if we 
go down the stream of ages that are before us, we 
soon come to a time when they will be no more. 
Mutability is stamped on every thing visible. The 
eye of observation can attest this, apart from the 
Bible. The hardest and firmest materials of the 
present system, give evidence of approaching dis- 
solution. Not only animated, but lifeless nature 
gives evidence that it is subject to the universal 
law of change — that it has its youth, its matu- 
rity, and its old age. The surface of the earth, as. 
well as its productions, is undergoing a constant 
mutation. The low valley is sending its soil to the 
lower deep of the ocean, and the lofty mountain, 
supported by its apparently immoveable, rocky 
foundations, is falling away, and filling up the 



TRANSLATION OF ELIJAH. 



217 



waste places below. Vegetable nature, which in 
its youth looks so fresh and vigorous, as if it had 
started on an unending progress of growth and 
durability, before it has time to diffuse its fra- 
grance, and unfold its plumage, is checked by some 
of nature's reverses, and its beauty fades, its ver- 
dure grows dim, its delicate organs are deranged, 
and at length is separated into its original elements, 
and is seen no more. The animal tribes come into 
life with a mechanism so complete, as to prove that 
no other than infinite wisdom has been the work- 
man. Yet such is their limited destiny, that they 
seem hardly to have fairly begun the play of life, 
or to have time sufficient to exhibit the wisdom of 
their author, or the design of their creation, till 
their existence ceases, and they are seen no more. 
Even those mighty masses of matter which roll 
around and above us, and which, because we per- 
ceive no sensible decay in them, we are the most 
likely to imagine are imperishable, even these must 
finish their present courses, and be laid aside with 
the lesser things of creation, as having completed 
the design of their creator, and be new modeled 
before they will be prepared to weather the lapse 
of eternity. The earth will be consumed; the 
light of the sun will be extinguished ; the stars 
will cease from their twinkling, and the heavens 
shall fly away from the face of him that sitteth 
upon the throne, and no place shall be found for 
them. 

Man, in common with the other parts of creation, 
partakes of this changeableness. " He comes forth 
like a flower, and is cut down at noon, and with- 
ered; he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth 
not." 



218 TRANSLATION OF ELIJAH. 

But the saying that the things that are unseen 
are eternal, is as briefly descriptive of the future, 
as the saying of the present, that the things that 
are seen are temporal. By no great effort of the 
imagination we can go back through a succession 
of changes to the beginning; of the things temporal, 
and trace them down to the last of the series; but 
by no effort of the imagination can we trace the 
succession of things eternal to the termination of 
the series. Mutability is stamped upon every thing 
in the one period, and immutability is enstamped 
upon every thing in the other period. In the pres- 
ent time, visible nature seems to bear a resemblance 
to man, the most finished part of the workmanship; 
in the future time, every thing bears more of the 
resemblance of God, who is the same yesterday, 
to-day, and forever. The present ecomomy, both 
of nature and of grace, bears a resemblance to the 
first efforts of human genius, which are laid aside 
for that which is more perfect and abiding. The 
imperfection of the workmanship is adapted to the 
imperfection of man, its occupant, and chief observ- 
er. "Now we know in part, but when that which is 
perfect is come, then that which is in part will be 
done away." Both we, and the world, are in a state 
of infancy. Now we think as a child, but when 
we become men, we will put away childish things, 
and the economy will be perfected, and suited to 
the manly capacity. 

The common method by which our fallen and 
sanctified humanity makes its transit from the less 
to the more perfect economy, is by the changes of 
death, corporeal dissolution, and reanimation of 
bodily life. But this is a way which has been 
superinduced by sin, and was not the original 



TRANSLATION OF ELIJAH. 219 

design for the race, if unfallen, nor essential to the 
perfection of the economy intended. Death is the 
interruption of a perfect plan, and the retarding 
the progress in a system where all things were 
pronounced good. Whatever gfcod may come out 
of it by the overrulings of infinite wisdom, itself 
cannot" be regarded otherwise than as marring a 
beautiful workmanship, and holding back the sub- 
ject of it, for the time of its dominion, from the 
perfection of his being, and the happiness of which 
he might be capable. 

In the plan of boundless wisdom and omnipo- 
tence, it cannot be supposed necessary that he 
should make and destroy his workmanship, before 
he brings it to perfection; to produce disease, and 
the suffering of death, and the gloom and solitude 
of the grave for centuries, in order to perfect the 
being, and prepare him to appreciate the happiness 
of heaven. No such unnatural war upon nature 
has been experienced among sinless angels. Even 
the offending part of their number did not die, and 
resign a part of their organization to a dissolution 
for ages. Existence may run on then, and advance 
to higher perfection eternally, or be made the sub- 
ject of suffering without end, and not experience 
such a change as is known in our world by the 
term death. 

But though it is not necessary for the wisdom of 
God to repeat its efforts on a created system, in 
order to perfect it, or to punish the offending part 
of his subjects, to dissolve their natures, and set 
their elements afloat among disorganized matter; 
though it may not be necessary for him, as for man, 
to take down the machinery after having put it 
to work and seen its defects, and remedy them 



220 TRANSLATION OF ELIJAH. 

by a new and more perfect erection; it may 
be necessary as a means of discipline to the offend- 
ing, and of education, and improvement to all the 
intelligent creation. In every species of mental 
progress, we know that our advancement is from 
the defective sketches, to the more perfect models ; 
from the scattered elements of thought, to the 
more perfect combinations; God, therefore, as the 
great instructor of the universe of intelligences, 
may be pursuing a similar plan. The creation of 
this world as an experimental lesson, beauteous, 
and majestic, and wonderful as it is, may be only 
as the first lesson of a well versed preceptor to his 
primary school, designed merely as an elementary 
step in the boundless field of the divine displays of 
workmanship. And man, perfect as he was, when 
he came new made from his maker's hand, was no 
more than the alphabet in the boundless range of 
science, compared with what he may be in his sec- 
ond, and future organization. And with such ideas 
of the resources of infinite wisdom, and power, and 
such delightful anticipations, the apostle was in- 
spired when he said, "It doth not yet appear what 
we shall be; but we know that when he shall 
appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him 
as he is. This" corruptible shall put on incorrup- 
tion, and this mortal shall put on immortality." 
And as we are instructed in seeing the workman- 
ship progress from its beginning to its completion, 
more than we would be by beholding it finished; 
so God may design by taking down the first build- 
ing of man, and the material world, with which he 
stands connected, to instruct the intelligent uni- 
verse, more fully than otherwise could have been 
done, the infinity of his wisdom, and benevolence, 



TRANSLATION OF ELIJAH. 



221 



and grace. And this dispensation towards man, 
and this material world, may be but a manifestation 
of the economy which is now going on in the re- 
gions of the universe, from which revealed light 
has not yet reached our eye; and but a specimen of 
that progress of improvement which will go on, 
not only upon intellectual and moral natures, but 
also upon materia], in eternity forever. " Sin enter- 
ed into the world, and death by sin." It is the 
threatened penalty of violated law, the capital pun- 
ishment inflicted upon a world of offenders. Prom 
the literal execution of this universal sentence, 
Elijah was exempted, and without the dissolution, 
and the corruption which are the common lot of 
his race, he was transferred to a higher and hap- 
pier existence. To have died at all under the ori- 
ginal constitution of man, would have been mirac- 
ulous ; but under the constitution as it is altered by 
sin, not to die is an exception to the uniform law 
of our nature. It would be as great a miracle 
among angels for one to die, as it is among men 
for one not to die. Perhaps it is only in this part 
of creation that intelligent beings are made the 
prey of death, and an earthly receptacle is made 
the abiding place of its inhabitants. Enoch and 
Elijah, privileged above their fellows, were allowed 
to take their bodies, at the same time with their 
souls, to a better state. The apostle has shown us 
a mystery with regard to the future, far more 
august than this, that we shall not all die, but be 
changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an 
eye, at the last trump, the whole living population 
of the earth shall be changed, and the saying shall 
be brought to pass, death is swallowed up in vic- 
tory, and the universal thanksgiving be sung to 



222 TRANSLATION OF ELIJAH. 

God, who giveth us the victory, through our Lord 
Jesus Christ; and death, the unopposed devastator 
of a world, will be challenged in the language of 
triumph, to answer; where is now his sting, and 
the grave, which has wasted the beauty,, and fed 
upon the dust of unnumbered millions of this fair 
creation, to tell, where is now his victory. The 
world of the living are at once placed beyond his 
reach, and the world of the dead, over whom he 
has held uninterrupted dominion for ages,, rescued 
from his relentless grasp. The case of Elijah, 
then, is an example of what will be a general fact 
with regard to the righteous, who will form the 
last generation of men in this eventful world. 
Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your 
Lord doth come. "Blessed is that servant whom 
his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing." 

REMARKS. 

From this extraordinary narrative, you may 
learn the following reflections: 

First, That the best preparation for an honored 
and happy departure from the present state, is to 
be actively employed in your proper duty, and 
zealously engaged for the honor of God, and the 
good of the church. In the closing scenes of Eli- 
jah's history, there is no period of inaction and 
repose assigned him, spent in quiet meditations of 
his approaching change. But a little before, you 
see him denouncing judgment upon the king of 
Samaria for consulting an idol God, about his re- 
covery bringing down the thunder of heaven, and 
consuming two captains of fifties, with their com- 
panies; visiting the colleges at Bethel, and Jericho, 
and giving his counsels to those who were there 



TRANSLATION OF ELIJAH. 223 

preparing to be the future ministers of the church 
after his departure; dividing Jordan with his man- 
tle, the badge of his authority, as Moses had divided 
the Red Sea, and Joshua Jordan, before him, like the 
Savior in his approach to mount Olivet with his dis- 
ciples, talking with Elisha of the things of the king- 
dom, preparing him to fill his responsible station in 
his absence, and imparting to him his final benedic- 
tion. Though he was aware the day of his depart- 
ure had come, that his earthly friends should see 
him no more, that unfrequented regions were soon 
to be trodden by him, and unrealized visions were 
soon to open upon his view; and though he knew 
not the nature of that change which was to 
disengage him from earth, and give to his body 
such attraction for distant worlds, as would break 
up its affinity for this : these thoughts give him no 
concern. He is engaged giving counsel to his suc- 
cessor, till in stately style the messengers approach 
him. He mounts the chariot with its fiery horses, 
from the better country, and with the speed of as- 
cending flame, winged with the whirlwind, and with 
the angels for his charioteers, he leaves the abode of 
men, and becomes the associate of angels. Such 
honor, substantially have all the saints. It is the 
good man's privilege, that his last end shall be 
peace, with the Savior in the arms of his faith to 
say, Now let thy servant depart in peace: for mine 
eyes have seen thy salvation, I have finished my 
course: henceforth there is laid up for me a cnwn 
of righteousness. The Savior said he would come 
again, and receive his disciples to himself. This 
promise he sufficiently fulfills, if he sends his angels, 
whom he makes his ministers, as a flame of fire for 
energy, to bear them in their hands to the house 



224 TRANSLATION OF ELIJAH. 

not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 

Second, Though the departure of the righteous 
be necessary to the perfection of their being, and 
the attainment of the high end of their existence ; 
yet the state and church may suffer loss by their 
absence. In view of this fact it may have been, 
that Elisha exclaimed, " The chariot of Israel, and 
the horsemen thereof." The righteous of a nation 
are its best defence: By their prayers, by their 
example, by diffusing the principles of righteous- 
ness, by reforming the wicked, and by teaching the 
principles of industry and economy. Joseph, by 
superior skill, because he was a man of faith, 
saved Egypt. Daniel imparted counsel to eastern 
monarchies. Esther saved the Jews in a hundred 
and twenty provinces; and, our Washington, under 
God, because he was a man of prayer, gave inde- 
pendence to these States. Let pigmie politicians 
squabble in the capitol about the best means of a 
nation's wealth, and a nation's defence, the truth 
remains, that it is righteousness that exalteth a 
nation, and that sin is the disgrace of any people ; 
and that nation, or kingdom, that will not serve 
the Lord, he will destroy. 

Third, We may infer the nearness of earth to 
heaven, and the interest which intelligent beings 
elsewhere take in the present and eternal well- 
being of the men of this world. The nearness of 
places is estimated very much, by the speed and 
facility of conveyance. Thus, Philadelphia is not 
more than one-third the distance from us it was 
formerly, and London is abnost as near as Philadel- 
phia was once, and Palestine is as near as England. 
By the speed of conveyance on the highway on 
which angels travel, and the souls of the redeemed 



TRANSLATION OF ELIJAH. 225 

to their abode, we are brought into their neigh- 
horhood; hence the speed and energy of their 
ministry to the heirs of promise, and their interest 
in their welfare. Their interest is one, not of 
those who have a globe between them, but of those 
who are in our immediate vicinity. They rejoice 
at one sinner's conversion, they attend for his deliv- 
erance when he prays, and conduct him, when he 
dies, to the bosom of Abraham. But these cher- 
ubs which illuminate the path to glory so brightly 
for the righteous, look with a fiery hue toward the 
destruction of the wicked. They are the ministers 
of justice, as well as mercy. 



15 



LECTURE XXV. 

DEFECTIVE SPRINGS HEALER. 

*< And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee,, 
the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth : but the water 
is naught, and the ground barren. And he said bring me a new 
cruse and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. And he 
went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there,, 
and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there 
shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. So the- 
waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Eiisha 
which he spake. And he went up from thence unto Beth-el: and 
as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out 
of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald 
head ; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on 
them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord, And there came 
forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children 
of them."— 2 Kings 2: 19^24. 

The prophets of Israel were a peculiar class of 
men. They seemed to have been commissioned as 
the reprovers and instructors of all other classes, 
"Though poor, and without worldly influence, 
they dared to rebuke kings on their thrones, and 
denounce the judgments of heaven upon them for 
their sins, to give them their commissions, and take 
them away at pleasure. They seem also to have 
had a control over the priesthood itself, to instruct 
it in its duties, and to correct its abuses. The pre- 
diction of future events w r as only a part of their 
business. A greater part of the official duty of 
most of them appears to have been, to teach the 
nation its duty, and reform it from its backslidings. 
Little of what Elisha said is recorded for the 
instruction of future ages. We see him more as a 



DEFECTIVE SPRINGS HEALED. 227 

man of busy activity for the benefit of the age in 
which he lived, than as preparing volumes of in- 
struction for the ages to come. If he was less bold 
and intrepid than Elijah, he is not less engaging in 
the amiableness of his character. If Elijah was the 
Luther of the reformation; Elisha was the Melanc- 
thon — both necessary, in their place, to fulfill the 
appropriate duties assigned them by him who giv- 
eth to every man severally as he will. All have 
not the same gifts, but all are required to exercise 
the gifts they have, for the good of their fellow 
men, and for the glory of God. He that has but 
one talent, is bound as much to use that to profit, 
as he who has five. A judgment will be passed 
upon us in case of misimprovement — not because 
we have hid five in the earth, but because we have 
not doubled one. 

When Elisha was first called to his public station 
by the particular direction of God, and the instru- 
mentality of Elijah, he was engaged in the labori- 
ous, but honorable occupation of cultivating the 
soil, procuring his living, according to the original 
denunciation upon man when he sinned, by the 
sweat of his face. Though in his retired profes- 
sion he appears to have had considerable property, 
and to have been in the midst of business, he did 
not, consult with flesh and blood, but immediately 
made arrangements to follow the will of heaven in 
a new and more spiritual occupation. Like the 
disciples when called from the fishing-boat, he left 
all, and followed the Lord. 

We have the best reason to expect progress in 
holiness, and advancement to a wider sphere of use- 
fulness, when we are faithfully filling the station 
we occupy. He that is faithful in that which is 



228 DEFECTIVE SPRINGS HEALED. 

least, will be faithful in much ; and if you be un- 
faithful in that which is your own, who will give 
you another man's ; and if you be unfaithful in the 
unrighteous mammon, who will commit to you the 
true riches. It is a pleasing peculiarity of the reli- 
gion of God, that it is not restricted in its gracious 
and comforting influences, to conditions or stations 
of life ; that the visits of grace may come to the 
ploughman, as well as the divine; and to become 
fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, it is not neces- 
sary to forsake our calling, or become slothful in 
business ; and, that he who is faithful in the work- 
shop, and in the field, while God calls him no 
higher, is equally with others doing his duty, and 
accepted of God. It is when you are busy in one 
lawful calling, that you may expect to hear your 
Master say to you, Come up higher. And the Sa- 
vior gives it as a reason why we should be engaged 
in our spiritual pursuits, and watch and pray al- 
ways, that we know not when the Son of man 
will come, to take us to the higher employments 
of heaven. And he that serves God most in the 
humbler pursuits of time, will be best prepared for 
the more exalted pursuits of eternity. 

Elisha was not long favored with the presence 
and instruction of Elijah, his spiritual father; and 
sooner perhaps than he expected, he had to assume 
the responsibilities for which he felt himself inade- 
quate. But to prepare himself with more than his 
own resources, he sought and obtained such a por- 
tion of that spirit from above, which it is the com- 
mon privilege of all to seek, and a portion of that 
miraculous agency which transported Elijah to the 
better country, remained with him on earth, to 
prove his mission, and to shew that he was the 



DEFECTIVE SPRINGS HEALED. 



229 



proper successor of him who was gone. God is 
not confined to one set of instruments, to perform 
his work. As in nature, the seed of the vegetable 
kingdom is in itself, to secure succession, growth, 
beauty and fruitfulness, to the end of time; so in 
the spiritual kingdom, the seeds of the necessary 
gifts, and graces, are sown in the productive hill of 
Zion, which, by the established means of God's 
appointment, will continue to vegetate the plants 
of righteousness in the garden of the Lord, until 
in a joyful maturity, they will all be removed to 
the ever-verdant Paradise above. 

Jordan obeys the mantle in the hand of Elisha, 
as it did when waved by its former owner, and he 
is satisfied that the Lord God of Elijah is with him. 
Bearing the credentials of a prophet, invested with 
the plenary power of his office, he is applied to at 
Jericho, to heal the defective springs of water. 
Though nature was pronounced very good, when 
it came from the finishing hand of its maker, sin 
has introduced into it many derangements. The 
site of Jericho, for the iniquity of its original in- 
habitants, had been subjected to a curse — the foun- 
tains of water producing sterility; and a curse had 
been pronounced by Joshua, upon the man who 
would rebuild the city. Men, however, will not be 
deterred by the prospect of disease or loss, from 
places which hold out favorable inducements. 
To make gain, men will go into the most forbidding 
regions, and expose not only their bodies to dis- 
ease, but also their souls to the contagion of spirit- 
ual disease and death. But often even to such 
places the means of healing comes. By some 
means a school of the prophets had been estab- 
lished on this forbidden spot. Though such insti- 



230 



DEFECTIVE SPRINGS HEALED. 



tutions are not regarded by all according to their 
worth, and especially in their immediate vicinity ; 
yet, so far as any pecuniary advantage will accrue, 
they will be valued by those who would lightly 
esteem them on other grounds. Whatever advan- 
tage this school was to Jericho on other grounds, 
does not appear; but under such a patron as Eli- 
jah, the best results may be supposed. And it is 
probable that it was owing to its location there, 
that Elisha thought proper to employ miraculous 
agency in healing its springs, and thus it is an illus- 
tration of a common benefit which is derived from 
well conducted public schools. If they are as they 
should be, and especially if the seeds of knowledge 
grow with the principles of piety, and the grace of 
God, like salt, is thrown into these fountains of a 
nation's educated youth, they become as fertilizing 
streams over the land, to enrich it, not only intellec- 
tually and spiritually, but also to add to its physical 
comfort. Such institutions are always valued and 
sustained, in proportion to a people's advancement in 
civilization and improvement, and will be regarded 
for the purposes of the church, according to the 
desire for spiritual instruction, and the general dif- 
fusion of it through the world. 

Though we are not to imitate the prophet, in the 
kind of means he used for the healing of the w r aters, 
we may learn something from the manner in w r hich 
he employs them. He applies the healing process 
not to the streams, but to the fountains. Had 
he healed a single reach of the stream, as it was 
passing on, the benefit would have been only tem- 
porary, and the bitterness of the spring being unaf- 
fected, would soon have poured forth an abundant 
supply of the original quality, producing all the 



DEFECTIVE SPRINGS HEALED. 231 

disastrous effects as before. So, if the barrenness 
of our fallen nature is to be healed, it is to be done 
at the spring-head. Out of the heart are the issues 
of life. If the life is to be made right, it is by cor- 
recting the source of its actings. God's plan, and 
man's, for effecting this, are different. Man's is 
by correcting the stream; God's by purifying the 
fountain. Man commences his operations upon the 
fruit; God upon the tree. Man summons his for- 
ces against the habit of wrong doing; God against 
the propensity. Man says, I will guard against this 
evil temper ; God says, "A new heart will I give 
you, and a new spirit will I put within you, that 
ye may walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinan- 
ces, and do them." We are disposed to make clean 
the outside of the cup, or platter; but God assures 
that neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor 
uncircumcision, but a new creature. We are dis- 
posed to amend what is wrong in the action, with- 
out attacking the principle; but God, whose work 
is perfect, if he will effect any thing valuable, new 
makes the principle, and those who are healed 
under the heavenly process, are born not of the will 
of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 
But, though God heals the waters, the people 
must employ the instrument, and Elisha must take 
the cruse, and the salt, and cast it into the foun- 
tains. There must be the use of the means, though 
there appear to be no adaptation, or proportion 
between the means and the end. Though man can 
do nothing efficiently, he must work as if he could. 
He must call forth his energies against the common 
foes of his spirituality. He must concentrate his 
efforts, to eradicate the root of bitterness from his 
nature^ as if it was to be effected by his own 



232 DEFECTIVE SPRINGS HEALED. 

unaided strength, and at the same time feel that 
it is not himself, the cruse, the salt, nor the 
prophet that will effect it, but the Lord. And 
when the work of his renewal is done, allow it to 
be said, from the full emotions of a grateful soul, 
to the praise of his glorious grace, "Thus saith the 
Lord, I have healed these waters." How dispropor- 
tionate the means to the end. The Savior puts 
clay on the eyes of a blind man, and he sees. It 
pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save 
them that believe. How often, for want of seeing 
sufficient efficacy in the means, do men refuse to 
employ them. They ask, what good can they do? 
and placing their ignorance, or presumption, above 
the wisdom of God, they continue in the gall of 
bitterness, and in a land of spiritual sterility for- 
ever. It is pleasing to reflect, too, when a work is 
done in God's way, and by his efficiency, how 
durable it is. "So the waters were healed unto 
this day, according to the saying of Elisha." Man's 
independent workmanship is like himself, less beau- 
tiful, but equally evanescent as the flower. Having 
no root in themselves, they are soon scorched and 
withered away. But where God has begun a good 
work, he will perform it until the day of Jesus 
Christ. "He shall grow as the lily, and cast forth 
his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread; 
and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his 
smell as Lebanon. He shall flourish like the palm 
tree, and bring forth fruit even in old age. He is 
like a tree planted by the rivers of water, whose 
leaf never fadeth." 

Having accomplished the work which he had to 
do at Jericho, Elisha returned to Bethel, where 
was another school for youth. When he came 



DEFECTIVE SPRINGS HEALED. 



233 



near [the place, he was assailed by a company of 
idle and unmannerly boys from the town, and 
reproached for his age and religion, two things 
which, most of all, entitle a man to the respect of 
the young. He turned, and with the mingled emo- 
tions of pity and indignation, pronounced upon 
them the judgment of heaven. We may not sup- 
pose he cursed them profanely, or in the indulgence 
of his own angry spirit; but that he predicted the 
immediate punishment of their sin, which was soon 
executed upon them, by two bears from the adjoin- 
ing wood. The text does not say, they were killed 
by these furious wild beasts; but, probably some of 
them were, and all torn and wounded. It is the 
will of God, that there should be a proper respect 
for age, and office. The hoary head is a crown of 
glory when found in the way of righteousness. 
Honor thy father and mother, is a command which 
applies not only to parents, but to all superiors. It 
is written, thou shalt not revile God's high priest. 
Honor to whom honor, fear to whom fear. It was 
one source of Job's affliction, that young children 
despised him, that they that were younger than he 
had him in derision. It is to be presumed, how- 
ever, that these youth did not act in this manner 
without some encouragement, in the instruction 
and example of their parents. 

Bethel was one of the places where Jereboam's 
idols were set up, and worshiped. These were, no 
doubt, the children of the false worshipers, who 
disliked the true religion, and its ministers. Chil- 
dren are very likely to partake of the spirit of 
their parents. Those who had Job in derision, he 
says, were the children of base men. Where there 
js ^irreligion, we often find good manners. Where 



234 DEFECTIVE SPRINGS HEALED. 

both are wanting, it shows the lowest state of 
society. Where civility is wanting in children, it 
argues badly, both for the religion, and good man- 
ners of the parents. It is one of the commands of 
religion, as well as its fruit, to be courteous. Vul- 
gar uncoothness is no more the offspring of reli- 
gion, than it is of an improved civilization. We 
think we are not mistaken in believing that there 
is a decline in this respect, in the habits of the 
young, from the age of our fathers. The period of 
boyhood seems in a good measure to be done away 
with. Children pass at once from infancy to man- 
hood, without, in feeling at least, living through 
the intermediate period. We learn too soon, and 
too far, that we live in a country of independence ; 
and age, and office, too often fail to secure that res- 
pect which are their due, and to be a safe-guard 
against unmerited reproach. If man is ever to be 
right in any respect, he is to be so only by being 
taught. If his manhood is to be any thing as it 
should be, it is to be expected only by properly 
passing through his boyhood. The maxim is suffi- 
ciently true, As the twig is bent, so is the tree 
inclined. If it is kept crooked while growing, it 
will not become straight afterwards. And the 
proverb is more true, " Train up a child in the way 
he should go, and when he is old he will not depart 
from it. If the tree is kept straight during its 
growth, it will not be likely to become bent after- 
wards. In this process of training, parents have 
the chief responsibility. In the neglect of this 
important duty they must expect, at some future 
time, to have their own hearts wrung with anguish. 
There was a sad lamentation in Bethel, when these 
children were made the prey of beasts, or were 



DEFECTIVE SPRINGS HEALED. 235 

carried home torn and bleeding. But who were 
to blame? Doubtless the parents chiefly. They 
themselves had whet the weapon by which they 
were pierced. A corrupt neighborhood influence 
may do much to destroy wholesome example at 
home. And if there is a consciousness of fidelity 
in the parent, he will have that to sustain him 
when the judgments of heaven fall upon a rebel- 
lious child; but what will support that parent who 
is conscious of having led his child astray, or 
grossly failed to teach him right? What will be 
the feelings of that parent, who must forever 
reproach himself with the loss of a child in the 
world of endless wo? 



LECTURE XXVI. 

WIFE OF THE DECEASED PASTOR HELPED, — SON OF THE 
RICH WOMAN OF SHUNAM RESTORED. 

And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said 
unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel: and he said unto her, There 
is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. 

And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this fShunamife. So he 
called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take 
up thy son. — 2 Kings 4: 6, 36. 

The prophets of Israel were not like the priests, 
ministers by hereditary succession, but by special 
appointment. Neither had they, as the priests, a 
support secured them by law. They were, there- 
fore, dependent for their living upon the voluntary 
contributions of the people. Except they had pri- 
vate fortunes, which it is likely was not often the 
case, their income was precarious. For this reason, 
this deceased servant of God not only left his family 
poor, but involved in debt. The preachers of the 
truth were not likely to be favored under the influ- 
ence of such a king as Ahab, and in an age of such 
apostacy. He may have been one who, to save his 
life from the persecution of Jezebel, had been con- 
cealed in a cave, and been fed on bread and water 
by Obediah. It has generally been so throughout 
the history of the world, that the public servants of 
the true religion, have had but little of the wealth 
of the world, and have often been in want of its 
necessaries. Even so distinguished a man as Paul, 
could say, I know how to be in want. The minis- 
ters of false religions have always been the best 



WIFE OF THE DECEASED PASTOR HELPED. 237 

supported. Being destitute of proper principle, 
they have availed themselves of ignorance and su- 
perstition to aggrandize themselves. The heathen 
priesthood and the Romish hierarchy, have never 
wanted for worldly accommodations. The prophets 
of Baal were fed at Jezebel's table, while the proph- 
ets of the Lord were fed in a cave. It is a dis- 
honor to the believers in the true religion, that they 
have less of zeal and liberality to support it, than 
the devotees of superstition. That the families of 
their public religious servants should be in want, 
while their own are in affluence; that their own 
should be increasing in property, while those who 
serve them in the Lord, are sinking into poverty. 
Who, that has a heart not steeled with covetous- 
ness, can contemplate such a case as this, without 
emotion ? 

The loss of a husband, was enough for the wid- 
owed heart to endure. But, no sooner is the sup- 
porter and comforter of her life laid in the grave, 
than she is harrassed with the writs of a merciless 
creditor, and the last item of saleable property fail- 
ing to discharge the debt, her two sons, the only 
remaining solace of her life, are levied upon, to be 
sold into six years' slavery, to meet the claim. 
Though the Jewish law does not directly command 
the seizing of the person of the debtor, or his 
children, it makes regulations respecting it, re- 
quiring them to be treated, not as bond servants, 
but as hired servants, and to be liberated at the 
seventh year. Neither the afflicted mother in this 
case, nor Elisha complains that the process is illegal, 
however severe it may appear, and the full exercise 
of the law of love in the heart of the creditor, 
would have prevented him from exercising it. 



238 WIFE OF THE DECEASED PASTOR HELPED . 

The Savior illustrated the benevolence of the prin- 
ciple, in the parable of the king who would take 
account of his servants: one being brought to him 
which owed him ten thousand talents ; and as he 
had nothing to pay, he commanded him to be sold, 
and his wife and children, and payment to be made ; 
such was the creditor's legal privilege. But, when 
the servant entreated for indulgence, the Lord of 
that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed 
him, and forgave him the debt. Here was the be* 
nevolence of the case: The law permitted him to 
exact the claim, but benevolence prevailed, so as to 
induce him to yield it. So, it often occurs in the 
history of legal justice, that charity is violated, and 
the man who is disposed always to avail himself of 
the benefit of law, is not likely to have much benev- 
olence in his nature; and he will probably be just, 
no farther than the law will compel him. It may 
be proper here to mark a distinction between the 
moral, political, and ecclesiastical laws: The 
moral law, commands every thing spiritually good in 
its utmost perfection, and tolerates nothing wrong 
in the smallest degree; but the sentence of it is 
reserved to that day when God shall judge the 
secrets of men by Jesus Christ. The judicial law, 
commanded nothing morally bad, and forbid nothing 
morally good ; but, as the sentence of it was to be 
pronounced by the civil magistrates, it did not insist 
upon the same perfection ; it also had respect to the 
situation, character, and peculiar circumstances of 
the nation to be governed, and supposed the exist- 
ance of some evils which could not be prevented 
without a constant miracle, and provided against 
their worst effects. A careful attention to this distinc- 
tion, will account for many things tolerated in the 



WIFE OF THE DECEASED PASTOR HELPED. 239 

political law of Moses, which are condemned in the 
moral law of loving our neighbor as ourselves. 
From the nature of the case, mankind cannot be 
governed in their social capacity, in the state, and 
the church by the moral law, in all the excellence of 
its holy requirements, and the vigor of its penalty. 
It denounces death for every violation in thought, 
word, and action. If its penalty were inflicted, the 
whole race of men would be swept from their earth- 
ly existence in a moment. It is designed for the 
government of man as an individual, in the relations 
he sustains to his God, and God has reserved to him- 
self the prerogative of judging, and punishing him. 
Hence it was, that no sooner did God give the moral 
law, than he added a modification of it, for the 
government of the nation, in its civil and ecclesias- 
tical capacity. In the government of nations, it 
must be considered how far it is practicable, expe- 
dient, or conducive to the great ends of government 
under penal sanctions, to require all that is right, 
and forbid all that is wrong. In this respect, Israel 
was like other nations. Because civil institutions,, 
or church rules are less perfect than the high stand- 
ard of the moral law, provided they require of us 
nothing that is positively a violation of the moral 
law, is no reason why we should refuse allegiance 
to them, and be governed by them. On this prin- 
ciple, the Jews might have refused to be governed 
by the civil, and church law, which God gave thenu 
Upon this principle, there could be neither nation nor 
church upon earth. Those, then, who refuse alle- 
giance to the state, because its institutions are less 
perfect than the moral law requires of man as an 
individual, are aiming to adopt a principle, which, 
from the nature of the case, can never be executed 



240 WIFE OF THE DECEASED PASTOR HELPED. 

in human society, and which the great Lawgiver 
himself never designed should be. It is, doubtless, 
as much a sin in the sight of God, to violate the 
tenth commandment, which says, thou shalt not 
covet, as it is the eighth, which says, thou shalt not 
steal. But, can state, or church laws reach the one 
case as well as the other? Or shall we refuse con- 
nection with the one or the other, because their 
laws do not punish the want of benevolence as they 
do theft. The ground, therefore, assumed, and 
acted on by some professing christians, by which 
they refuse to acknowledge the government of 
these states, and perform some of the peculiar du- 
ties of citizens, because the constitutions are less 
perfect than the moral law, seem to be in error in 
their fundamental principle, and seem also to attach 
blame to the conduct of God himself, in not giving 
to the Jews as perfect an economy as he has done 
to the Christian church. Of the one, he himself 
says, it was only a shadow of good things to come, 
and made nothing perfect; but the bringing in of a 
better testament did. The fact itself, then, that an 
organization of church or state, is less perfect than 
the moral law, while it does not require the violation 
of that law, is not of itself sufficient reason why 
we should refuse, or break connection with that 
association. 

But what the law cannot prevent, benevolence 
can alleviate; what justice cannot arrest, kindness 
can; and what the judge cannot do, the prophet 
can. Though the rigor of the law, urged on by 
the avaricious creditor, would deprive the disconso- 
late widow of the Lord's servant, of the only re- 
maining dear supporters of a mother in poverty, 
miracle can accomplish what is despaired of by or- 



WIFE OF THE DECEASED PASTOR HELPED* 241 

dinary means; and the Lord effects by miracle, 
what he did not see proper to do by law. Nor is it 
more strange, that in a world of sinners, evils should 
occur in a political government over which God 
holds a providential control, than in a physical gov- 
ernment over which he presides ; that we should 
suffer by a law which is defective in charity, than 
by an atmosphere which is destructive of health? 
Provided we are satisfied it is the Lord's arrange- 
ment, we have as much reason for acquiescence in 
the one case, as in the other. So neither does it 
appear, that this woman, nor the prophet complain- 
ed of the law, which, in her case, was about to 
operate so severely, as being unreasonable, and un- 
righteous ; but she sought, as was right, some honest 
means to evade its execution. Unable to meet the 
demands of the law, she goes to the Gospel; unable 
to answer the demands of the judge, she applies to 
the prophet* By his assistance, what she lacked 
in gold, is made up in olive oil, which she 
exchanges for the purpose, and thus is able to meet 
the whole which was against her, besides a supply 
for her living. Happiness is restored to a disconso- 
late household, and a pious mother and her beloved 
sons, are permitted to live in a happy family society, 
freed, too, from the embarrassment of worldly cir- 
cumstances, sooner than if he had remained, whose 
loss she so much deplored. How much better is 
God often to people than their fears. I have 
been young, says David, and now am old, and have 
never seen the righteous forsaken, nor their seed 
begging bread. The child of God can never be so 
safe as in his Father's hands, who is able to do 
"exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or 
think." Godliness hath the "promise of the life 

16 



242 WIFE OP THE DECEASED PASTOR HELPEDu 

that now is, and of that which is to come." If you 
ask God for bread only, he will not give you a 
stone. He delighteth in mercy, and to exercise it 
especially where the need is the greatest. The 
more helpless you feel, the more likely you are to 
be the objects of God's regard. 

As we have seen the grace of God by the prophet, 
diffusing comfort through one poverty stricken 
household, and pouring the oil of joy into a wid- 
owed mother's wounded heart; next let us notice 
himself as the object of kindness, by a woman of 
distinction, whose circumstances were the reverse 
of the former. The Shunamite was blessed with 
wealth, and what w r as better, with a heart to use it 
for the glory of God, and the comfort of his ser- 
vants. Besides affording the prophet the refresh- 
ments of her table, she built for him a chamber, and 
furnished it both for repose, and study. She thus 
honored the Lord with her substance. She gave 
more than a cup of cold water to this disciple, in the 
name of a disciple, and she did not lose a prophet's 
reward. Like Sarah of old, the Lord gave her the 
happinesss, beyond her expectation, of embracing 
a son, to give exercise to maternal affection, and 
share with her the bounties of a providence which 
had been so richly bestowed. He that forsakes 
houses and lands, says the Savior, for my sake, and 
the gospel's, shall receive many fold more in this life, 
and in the life to come, life everlasting. It may not 
be more in kind, but it will be more in value. This 
woman of piety gives of her property for a becom- 
ing purpose. She receives a soul to be educated 
for immortality, and which the Savior intimates is 
of more worth than all the world; yet, how few 
believe that in casting their bread upon the waters, 



WIFE OF THE DECEASED PASTOR HELPED. 243 

they shall find it after many days. Who would not 
rather have the bonds and securities of men, than 
the promise God? How few practically believe, that 
in giving to the poor they are lending to the Lord, 
and are willing to take him for their pay-master. 
From the manner in which charities have to be 
doled out for the most worthy objects, it would 
seem that the prevailing feeling is, that whatever is 
given is lost, and whatever is given to us by the 
liberality of heaven, becomes ours in the most abso- 
lute sense, so that God himself cannot claim it after- 
wards. The providence of God, however, teaches 
us many impressive lessons of the vanity of earthly 
things, and the insecurity of earthly relationships. 
The estate is often soon taken from the heir, or the 
heir from the estate. And the rich, and the poor, 
are alike the subjects of bereavement. The proph- 
et's widow is in danger of losing her sons by pov- 
erty; the rich Shunamite sends out her cheerful 
boy to the field in the morning, with his father, he 
sickens and dies upon her lap by noon: and religion 
is the common resource of both. The great woman 
of Shunam, and the widow of the deceased pastor, 
are here on a level, and the prophet's religion is 
the common deliverer of both. The one is as una- 
ble to bring her son back from death, as the other 
is to bring her sons from bondage. Whatever may 
be the number of the points of our independence, 
there are dependent points enough on which we 
are still compelled to lean, to teach us humility, 
and lead us to the resources of grace, as our only 
effectual support. 



REMARKS. 

In view of the subject we remark: 



244 WIFE OF THE DECEASED PASTOR HELPED. 

First, That the only remedy for the moral and 
physical evils which oppress the world, is the Gos- 
pel, and the prevalence of that spirit of universal 
benevolence which it inculcates. 

Second, As the oil did not stop while there was 
a vessel to receive it, you may be led to reflect on 
the sufficiency of grace, and its adaptation to fill 
every capacity* Thus through eternity, as the 
capacity of the soul enlarges, it will be supplied 
out of the fullness of him who filleth all in all. 

Third, Parents are here reminded that they have 
no security for the life of their children, and that 
what should be done for their instruction and salva- 
tion to-day, should not be postponed till to-morrow. 

Fourth, Let children learn, that since they may 
sicken and die in an hour, they should remember 
their Creator in their youth. To such the gracious 
promise is, "They that seek me early shall find 
me." 



LECTURE XXVII. 



NAAMAN CURED. 



£i And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash 
in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and 
thou shait be clean. — Then went he down, and dipped himself seven 
times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God : and 
his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was 
«lean."— 2 Kings 5: 10, 14. 

Every one claims for himself the right of doing 
what he pleases with his own. But this common 
privilege, which every one claims for himself, few 
are willing to allow to God. When the laborers 
received every one a penny a day, some mur- 
mured, that those who had labored but one hour, 
should receive as much as they who had borne the 
burden and heat of the day. To such the proprie- 
tor said, "Is thine eye evil, because I am good? 
Have not I a right to do what I will with mine own?" 
According to the reasoning of many, God cannot 
be a sovereign, without being unjust; and cannot 
be liberal to any, with the gifts which all have for- 
feited, without subjecting himself to the charge of 
being a respecter of persons. This same selfishness 
of human nature which would deprive God of his 
sovereignty, that it might equalize his gifts to men, 
proceeds a step further, and monopolizes them to 
itself. The same principle which is opposed to 
others receiving more than ourselves, is in favor of 
their receiving less. The fancied worthiness in us, 
which brings us to conclude that it would be une- 
qual in God to give more to others than he does to 



246 NAAMAN CURED. 

us, for the same reason easily brings us to the con- 
clusion, that we have a claim for more than others. 
Hence, the orgin of envy, and grieving at the good 
of others, also, a discontment with the allotments 
of providence. Thus, when the Savior, in the 
presence of the people of Nazareth, his native city, 
referred to the history of Naaman's miraculous 
cure, saying, " There were many lepers in Israel in 
the time of Eliseus the prophet, and none of them 
was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian." They 
were wroth, and rose up, thrust him out of the 
city, and led him unto the brow of the hill, that 
they might cast him down headlong. This intima- 
tion of our Lord, that he had a right to work his 
miracles where he pleased, exceedingly enraged 
them, as if it had been an inexcusable injustice. 
Those who are the least disposed to seek the pecu- 
liar blessings of God's grace in his appointed way, 
are the most disposed to claim them as their right, 
and the most ready to complain if they do not 
receive them. And such are only exasperated the 
more, if they are shown that God always dispenses 
his favors in that way which tends most to display 
his own glory, and especially the riches of his 
unmerited grace and mercy. The Jew is left in his 
formal religion, while the 'heathen idolater is made 
the living subject of his grace. The Syrian General 
is healed of his deadly disease by the instrumental- 
ity of Israel's prophet, and the power God, while 
leprous Israelites remain under the dominion of the 
disease. " There are none returned to give thanks 
to God save this stranger." They shall come from 
the east, and the west, and sit down in the king- 
dom, while the children of the kingdom are cast out. 
While we may be valuing ourselves for our peculiar 



NAAMAN CURED. 247 

privileges, and saying, The temple of the Lord, the 
temple of the Lord are we, the Lord may be reject- 
ing us from a place in the spiritual building, and be 
raising it up of other more suitable materials. We 
will be judged, not according to our visible, but 
according to our real relationship to the Redeemer; 
and our admission into the congregation of the 
sanctified will depend, not upon the fact, whether 
we have our name registered among the tribes of 
the Lord, but on the fact of our being healed of 
our spiritual diseases, and cleansed from our moral 
pollutions. 

Naaman was a great man, chief under the king 
in the empire. He had been distinguished as the 
commander of the Syrian armies, in achieving vic- 
tories for his country, even over Israel itself. The 
Jews say it was he who drew a bow at a venture, 
by which Ahab was killed; yet his greatness does 
not raise him above the calamities of life. " Every 
man," says Henry, "has some; but in his character 
something that blemishes and diminishes him; he may 
be very happy, or very good, yet not so happy, or so 
good as he should be. Naaman was as great as the 
world could make him, yet the lowest slave in Syria 
would not change skins with him." This should 
lead us to contentment with our lot. If the whole 
circumstances of those whom we are most disposed 
to envy were known, perhaps there is no one with 
whom we would change conditions; so equal, after 
all, are the dispensations of providence. And this 
may have been one of the lessons by which Paul 
learned, in whatever state he was, therewith to be 
content. Elevated as may be the rank of any one 
in the scale of power and opulence, he is still 
dependent upon the lowest. The captian of th« 



248 



?JAAMAN CURED. 



Syrian armies was dependant, for every thing that 
made life desirable, upon the knowledge and kind- 
ness of a Jewish servant girl. Such a system of 
dependency prevails through society, and all the 
works of God. So much is it in the power of 
every one to do good to others, and to increase the 
amount of human happiness. One child taught in 
the principles of true religion, may be a blessing to 
an empire, A servant-maid, instructed in the prin- 
ciples of the Bible, may teach senators wisdom, and 
recommend religion to a heathen kingdom, Those 
who accupy the high places of state* too often know 
nothing aright of the God of Israel, and the way of 
deliverance from their spiritual disease; and the 
knowledge of it must be pressed upon their attention 
by those of humbler stations. But the promptness 
with which Naaman availed himself of the infor- 
mation by which he might be healed, is a rebuke to 
most, in reference to the diseases of their souls. 
Though he obtains the information of a prophet at 
a distance, who can probably cure his disease, he? 
immediately sets out on the journey. He loses 
no time by delay. He does this, though his infor- 
mation comes from so uninfluential a source — he 
does this, though there is not a certainty that the 
prophet is able, or willing, to afford him the desired 
remedy; and though labor, and expense are neces- 
sary to make the trial — he does it, though he holds 
in disrepute the people to whom the prophet be- 
longs, and disliked to award to them honor in any 
respect, to the disparagement of his own people. 
But when a man feels himself loathsome and dying* 
minor considerations yield to the one great object 
of health and life. This is all natural, as it regards 
the life that now is. We feel no surprise iu r«adU 



NAAMAN CURED. 249 

ing the history of such a course, for the regaining 
of bodily health. But how strangely different is 
the conduct of mankind generally, in regard to the 
life of their souls. They are assured on the most 
credible of all authority, that there is balm in Gil- 
ead, and a physician there. The joyful intelligence 
has been sounded abroad by embassadors commis- 
sioned for the purpose. "Ho, every one that thirst- 
eth, come ye to the waters. Whosoever will let him 
come, and take of the waters of life freely." Infor- 
mation of the Savior's ability, as well as his willing- 
ness is given, that he is able to save to the uttermost 
all that come to God by him. This is sustained by- 
ten thousands of experimental facts attesting its 
truth in every age, without the counter report of a 
single failure of one fair and actual trial; yet, how 
many are disposed to hesitate, to doubt its truth, to 
cherish their diseases, and risk the consequences of 
a fatal termination. Why this disproportionate 
concern between the life that now is, and of that 
which is to come? Why this prompt regard for 
the body, and this procrastination about the soul? 
Why this wakeful interest about time, and this 
apathy about eternity? Why this ready compli- 
ance with the first and slightest intimations of a 
bodily remedy, while all the array of motives 
which heaven, earth and hell can furnish, fail to 
excite the sinner to flee from the wrath to come? 
Should you make the honest effort, and fail, you 
will have this to console you, that you at least tried 
to be saved; but to sink to wo, without one labori- 
ous effort to avoid it, must forever add fuel to the 
flame of a condemning conscience, and give teeth 
to the worm which never dies. 
But persons may seem to commence a compliance 



250 



NAAMAN CURED. 



with the intimations of the Gospel, and for want of 
obeying every specific direction, may fail, and lose 
both their previous labor and the object in view. 
Naaman did well in undertaking the journey, and 
coming to the prophet of Israel. But when he re- 
ceived his direction, he was unwilling to obey, and 
had it not been for his servants, would have missed 
a cure and remained in his leprosy. This was 
owing to his pride of feeling ; and to the fact that 
he had prescribed in his own mind, the manner in 
which the cure should be effected. Though suffer- 
ing severely by affliction, he was not humbled by it. 
He would be cured in his own way, or not at all. 
So it- is often in using the means of salvation. 
Impressed, in some measure, with the danger of 
their sinful condition, and the importance of salva- 
tion, they employ some of the means of grace, but 
with a heart not sufficiently humbled. Like Naa- 
man in applying to the humble prophet of Israel, 
they feel that from their lofty independence, it is a 
matter of condescension to feel any anxiety on the 
subject, and that the terms of salvation ought to be 
accommodated to them. It is not sufficiently real- 
ized that all the benefit is to be done to them. Be- 
cause God and his people manifest concern for their 
salvation, they seem to feel that it would be 
conferring a favor upon others, for them to submit 
to the terms of the Gospel, and therefore a com- 
promise of the exact conditions is expected; but 
the terms of salvation being immoveably fixed, this 
expectation cannot be gratified. Thus the appli- 
cant fails of a spiritual cure. The interest Naaman 
had in a cure was personal — in a relief from loath- 
someness and pain, and the enjoyment of a com- 
fortable life; to others it was only relative. So 



NAAMAN CURED. 251 

salvation is of importance, especially to the sinner 
himself. While others should be anxious, he should 
agonize to enter in at the strait gate. If others in 
harmony with the feeling of the Savior, weep in 
sympathy for his condition, his heart sould be broken 
in penitence, and he should be willing to make any 
sacrifice to accomplish the object. 

Another obstacle in the way of the sinner's salva- 
tion is, he prescribes to himself the way in which 
the work is to be performed. He has pictured to 
himself what the feelings are which accompany the 
experience of religion ; and he will be satisfied with 
nothing else than the filling up of the picture. His 
distress, in view of a sinful life, must be of such 
intensity, and duration, or he will not be satisfied 
with its reality, or he must obtain the object in the 
use of such means as he himself prescribes, and ac- 
companied with such forms as he may like best to 
adopt. But how unreasonable, for the patient delir- 
ious and perishing by disease, to prescribe to his 
physician the means of his cure, a submission to 
which, he will make the condition of his living. 
How unreasonable, for the criminal under sentence 
of death, to dictate to his judge the manner in which 
his pardon shall be given to him, and make this the 
condition of accepting it. And even much more 
unreasonable is the conduct of him who prescribes 
to himself the way he will be saved, and how far ha 
will conform to the requirements of the Gospel. 
Nor is it strange, if this be his course, that he should 
fail of the object. What he omits, may be much 
more important than what he does, and for want of 
this, every thing else is useless. But little avail for 
Naaman, to hear the prophet's direction, and refuse 
to go to Jordan. But little use to hear the invita- 



252 NAAMAN CURED. 

tion of the Savior, "Come unto me," if you refuse to 
believe on him to salvation. Neither will it do to 
substitute one thing in the place of another: for you 
to go to the rivers of Damascus, if you are directed to 
wash in the waters of Canaan. A third obstacle to 
the natural mind in the way of success, is the sim- 
plicity of the terms of salvation. Something great 
and ostentatious is expected. Means are looked 
for which have a visible efficacy in themselves. 
Hence the origin of the diversified forms of visible 
religion in the world. Man naturally clings to a 
sensitive religion. To forms which can be seen, 
and handled, and impress the external senses, rather 
than simple truth, and the invisible principle of faith. 
A religion is wanted which can be seen in the gaudy 
show of its external drapery, rather than in a meek 
and quiet spirit, which is the adorning of the mind. 
Parphar and Abana, the golden streams of Damas- 
cus, are better than the muddy waters of Jordan. 
In this feeling, idolatry in all its forms originated. 
An invisible God was too refined an object to be 
seen by carnal eyes; a visible object must at least 
be his emblem. He was too remote for man to ap- 
proach him, and a departed saint must be made a 
stepping-stone to the invisible throne. A glorified 
Savior was too sublimated an idea for the sanctifi- 
cation of his followers; he must be substantiated in 
the bread of the Sacrament, and his propitiation be 
made more accessible by the sacrifice of the mass. 
Penance being more visible, and crucifying to the 
flesh than repentance, is adopted in its place. A 
journey to Rome or to Juggernaut requiring more 
bodily labor, is preferred to approaching the cross 
by faith; and the water of baptism is made more 
account of than the thing signified by it. The 



NAAMAN CURED. 



253 



religion of sense, and the religion of faith have ever 
been opposing powers, and the conflict between 
them on the external platform of the church, seems 
now to be reviving, and the testimony to faith may 
again have to be born by the blood of martyrs. 
The one of these is the choice of man; the other is 
the appointment of God, and like the other arange- 
ments of God, its simplicity recommends it, and 
proves its origin. 

In defiance of his inability, and of all that God 
has said on the subject, man will be trying to make 
his way to heaven by the merit of works. Until 
his last resource fails him, he will endeavor to purify 
himself in his own silver streams, rather than go as 
he is, to the fountain opened in the house of David 
for washing away sin and uncleanness. But to this 
simple remedy he must come if he would be jhealed. 
Naaman at last complied with the prophet's direc- 
tion, washed in Jordan, and returned renovated, both 
in body and in soul. His idolatry is broken up for- 
forever, and the God of Israel becomes his God. Thus 
it will be with every sinner who applies properly to 
the Gospel remedy; and thus, too, the most effect- 
ual way for the doubting to be satisfied of the reality 
of religion, is to yield themselves to its healing 
influences, and obey its requirements. 



REMARKS. 

First, That every one, however obscure his situ- 
ation in life, may be instrumental in saving others. 
The little maid and Naaman'- servants were the 
necessary and honored instruments in this case, as 
well as the prophet. Let no one, then, excuse him- 
self from exerting his influence, because he is not a 
prophet. 



254 



NAAMAN CURED. 



Second, If reason would not prevent salvation, 
she must be content to follow faith, though it should 
be in the dark. Faith can walk in a darkness where 
reason is blindfolded: reason is the servant of faith, 
and not her master. Let faith do her proper office* 
and thou shalt be saved, 



LECTURE XXVIIL 



THE EVIL OF COVETOUSNESS. 

"And Naaraan said, Be content, take two talents. And h© 
urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two 
changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants, and 
they bare them before him." 

"The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and 
unto thy seed forever. And he went out from his presence a leper 
as white as snow."— 2 Kings 5 : 23, 27. 

Complying with the prophet's direction had 
availed more to Naaman than he expected. H@ 
had little faith in the prescribed remedy, but 
through the entreaty of his servants he finally con- 
cluded to employ it. He thought, perhaps, if it 
did no good, it would do no harm, and he could 
lose no more than his labor; but the success, so 
much beyond his faith, was as surprising as it was 
agreeable, and the change of his mind was as sud- 
den and as great, as the change on his body. The 
power that could cure him of a disease which 
was beyond the reach of human skill, he at once 
concluded must be divine, and the God that could 
effect it, be different and superior to the gods of his 
nation, and had the sole right to his love and devo- 
tion. Thus the miracle effecting the material sys- 
tem, is made the means of effecting the immaterial 
mind; and the healing of the body, the occasion of 
healing the soul. To this result, the simplicity, 
and apparent inefficiency of the means prescribed 
contributed. The very reason which disinclined him 
at first to submit to the prescription, inclined him at 



256 



EVIL OF COVETEOUSNESS. 



the last to believe in the supernatural nature of it. 
He could see no natural efficiency in the means; he 
was therefore the more ready to conclude that the 
efficiency which accompanied the use of them was 
more than natural. Had it been otherwise, and 
reason could have discovered a natural fitness in 
the means to produce such a result, he would have 
attributed the effect to the means themselves, and 
not to the power above them. Thus, the cure in- 
stead of producing and strengthening his faith, 
would have been regarded as only extending his 
knowledge of the power and adaptation of natural 
causes, rather than of establishing him in the belief 
of the everywhere-present Jehovah, and the divine 
origin of that religion, of which Elisha was a min- 
ister. The weakness of the instrument employed, 
leads to the conviction that a power beyond it, 
accompanies it, and makes it efficacious. In this 
way, the wisdom of God is often to be seen in the 
movements of his providence, and especially in the 
means of his grace. By this, it is seen how their 
very weakness becomes their strength, and their 
want of inherent efficiency, makes them. the more 
the hand-maids of faith; and is an illustration of 
the sentiment, that he has put these treasures in 
earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power 
may be of God, and not of us. Slight as the con- 
nection often appears between the meai)s and the 
end in the matters of salvation, we are too much 
disposed to rely upon them. How much more 
would we err in this respect, if the efficacy was 
more visible and striking. If we are now inclined 
to rely on the form and shadow, more than on him 
who gives it substance. If the word, and the water,, 
and the sacrament, and the administrator are now 



EVIL OF C0VET0USNESS. 257 

depended upon for success, on the ground of their 
own efficacy, what would it be if this efficacy 
could be more distinctly seen? As it is, the con- 
nection is sufficiently intimate, if properly regarded, 
to secure an attendance on the means, and lead us 
to use the instruments which appear to be connected 
with the end, and sufficiently disconnected, to se- 
cure a full reliance on God. Enough of necessity 
for the use of the means is seen, to call into vigor- 
ous exercise all our activity, and lead us to love, 
and be grateful for the instrument; and enough of 
weakness is seen in them, to lead us to depend on 
grace, and to give the praise of all our salvation to 
God — to induce us to work out our salvation with 
fear and trembling, and to believe that it is "God 
that worketh in us, both to will and to do of his good 
pleasure." Naaman not only returns with the hon- 
est avowal, that Jehovah is the only God, and 
that henceforth he shall receive his only worship, 
but, also, with grateful gifts to the prophet, who 
had been the instrument of guiding his footsteps in 
the way of peace. Let all learn thoroughly, (what 
none learn sufficiently,) to work as if all depended 
on works, and to depend on God as if works were 
nothing. This is the secret of religion in its begin- 
ning, and its progress. This secret is with all the 
righteous, but the unfolding of the covenant shews 
them more of it. 

But, how differently the same events of providence, 
and the same external manifestations of grace effect 
different individuals. The miracle of healing, which 
breaks up the idolatry of Naaman, is the occasion 
of cherishing the covetousness of Gehazi. That 
which subdues the selfishness of the one, is an occa- 
sion of strengthening the selfishness of the other. 

17 



258 EVIL OP COVETOUSNESS. 

The event which makes one a cheerful giver, 
becomes to the other the occasion of taking what 
is not his own. 

How different, too, the conduct and character of 
the individuals from what we would expect. The 
General of the Syrian army, a heathen worship- 
er, espouses the true God* and manifests christian 
affection, while the servant of the true prophet, and 
the professor oi the true religion acts unworthy 
of the heathen religion, and proves himself a hyp- 
ocrite. How often do persons badly answer the 
expectations which are excited by the privileges 
which they have had. Gehazi had lived with, and 
attended one distinguished for wisdom, piety, and 
influence. He had often heard his pious counsels, 
witnessed his godly example, and seen his miracles, 
but does not form his character after the model 
which stands so near him. He sees his master's 
example in not setting his affections on things on 
the earth ; but covetousness is too deeply rooted in 
his soul to remain always without a disgraceful 
manifestation. Being planted in the courts of the 
Lord, does not always secure fruitfulness to old 
age. Some roots of bitterness will spring up to 
trouble the pious, and be stumblingblocks to those 
that are without. Some tares will be among the 
wheat, and stand near to it, until the harvest come. 
Some characters will be seen in the world, more to 
be admired than some in the church, of whom it 
might be desirable they should change places; the 
one being better than his professed society, and 
the other w^orse: still the defective specimens do 
not prove that there is nothing genuine — on the 
contrary, counterfeit bills prove that there is a char- 
tered institution. Though some may have the best 



EVIL OF COVETOUSXESS. 259 

privileges and misimprove them, it does not prove 
that others, even less favored, may not shew better 
fruits. Naaman, a stranger, is more profited by- 
one interview with Elisha, than Gehazi is by dailv 
familiarity. The best men have often had those 
near them, and in their households, who have been 
a trial to them. The father has had to entreat, and 
say, "My son, if thou wilt be wise, my heart shall 
rejoice, even mine;" and not being regarded, his gray 
hairs have been brought down with sorrow to the 
grave. The mother has had to expostulate, "What 
my son, and the son of my vows?" and to see the 
hard heart remain unsubdued by her tears. Min- 
isters have had to be grieved for the members of 
their charge, and in view of years of fruitless 
labor, so Far as such are concerned, to say, "I have 
labored in vain, and spent my strength for naught." 
The only advance made by some, is to obtain reli- 
gion enough to keep them from being religious. 
They are christians just enough to keep them from 
doing the peculiar works of christians, and at the 
same time to keep them from applying to them- 
selves the woes pronounced against the wicked. 
Such are among the most unchangeable things in 
nature. They are as certainly in the church on 
the Sabbath, as they are in the world during the 
week; but their tempers, their self-will, their'char- 
ity, their zeal, their general devotedness, (graduated 
by the lowest scale that will admit of their beino- 
christians at all,) remain on the low ground, where 
they did years ago. Nor is it strange, if there is 
no advancement, that at last there should be a visi- 
ble retrocession; that the principles of some kind, 
wdiich must be gathering strength, will at last 
break over the barriers which a heartless profession 



260 EVIL OF COVETOUSNESS. 

has placed around them, and it be seen in full man- 
ifestation, what was always there — a heart under 
the influence of its native passions, and under the 
government of the principles of the world. K oi- 
ls it more, in such a case, than might be expected, 
that, like Gehazi, he should go upon the credit of 
his professed master, to effect a purpose which he 
could not effect on his own; and make his relation to 
religion itself, a help to gain some sinister purpose. 
But the exposure and condemnation of hypocrisy 
and deception, will come, sooner or later. Though 
man should never be able to detect it, it will be ex- 
posed at last, when the Lord shall say, "Depart, I 
never knew you." What a fearful reverse awaits 
us, if we are aoting a part to gain a sinister pur- 
pose, in our religious transactions. Look at Gehazi, 
and fear. But a little before you see him so much 
in the confidence of his master, as to be sent as his 
substitute to raise the dead son of the Shunamite; 
just now you see him carrying with him so much 
relative dignity, that the prime minister of the Sy- 
rian State alights from his chariot to learn his 
wishes; and in view of the honor and profit which 
were now so bountifully lavished upon him, it is 
not strange that he should say, "All is well." 
But the eye of God is up3n him, and the eye of 
the seer is upon him, and his dark deed of robbery 
and deception, artfully managed as it was, is seen; 
the charge is preferred, and though it is denied, it 
is proved by him who, for the time, acts in place of 
God, as witness, judge, and executioner. He is 
declared guilty. The punishment is pronounced, 
and no sooner pronounced than executed ; and the 
leprosy of Naaman cleaved to him, and to his seed, 
in their generations, and he went out from his pres- 



EVIL OF COVETOUSNESS. 



261 



ence a leper white as snow. What an inheritance 
this, with his ill-gotten treasure. Who would take 
his seven hundred pounds sterling, and this entail 
alono* with it? Who would not have preferred to 
have remained in his humble, but honorable station, 
rather than to have olive-yards, and sheep, and 
oxen, and a withering curse upon him? But they 
that will be rich, whether it be by right or by 
wrong, whether by taking more than their own, or 
by keeping what they should give away, fall into 
"many foolish and hurtfull lusts, which drown men 
in destruction and perdition." 



REMARKS. 

In view of the case the following principles are 
suggested: 

First, The evil of covetousness. 

This has been termed the selfishness of the purse. 
It seeks worldly prosperity, and knows nothing 
equal to that. The cause of Christ itself must wait 
on this, and be secondary to it. This, which has 
always been the sin of the world, has also been the 
sin of the church. This form of self, is Dives in 
the mansion, clothed in purple, and faring sumptu- 
ously every day. The cause of Christ is Lazarus 
lying at his gate, and fed only with the crumbs 
which fall from his table. This often makes an 
assembly of professing christians a congregation of 
useless men, assembling merelv for their own reli- 
gious purposes, and separating to pursue their own 
worldly ends, as regardless of the welfare of others 
as if none but themselves inhabited the earth. The 
scripture is particular in the description and con- 
demnation of this sin. It appears to have been the 
principal element in the first transgression. It 



262 



EVIL OF COVETOUSNESS. 



began in an inordinate desire for an object, of which 
God had said, Thou shalt not covet. In the instance 
of Achan, it was the first sin of the Israelites under 
the new dispensation in Canaan, brought defeat on 
the arms of Israel, and triumph to their foes. It 
was the first sin marked by the vengeance of heav- 
en, which interrupted the joy, and stained the glory 
of the present dispensation — Ananias and Sapphira 
kept back part of the price, and became the monu- 
ments of selfishness. The scriptural classification of 
this, shews its aggravated nature. It stands asso- 
ciated with all the principal sins. " From within, 
out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, 
adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetous- 
ness. I have written unto you not to keep com- 
pany, if any man that is called a brother be a forni- 
cator, or covetous, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an 
extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. Nor 
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, shall inherit 
the [kingdom of heaven." As we know a man by 
the company he keeps; so we may judge of this sin 
by the classification in which it is placed. If these 
other vices exclude from the kingdom of heaven, 
covetousness will do it as effectually, or the terms 
of admission are not correctly stated by inspiration. 
If the drunkard, and the adulterer, are not to 
be the objects of respectable association, or to 
be ate with as christian brethren; so neither is 
the covetous, by the decision of the same author- 
ity. But is this according to the common feeling 
of society, or of the church? This would be intro- 
ducing a new standard of reputation — a new test 
of church membership. Though it has stood on 
the church's statute book from the beginning, it 
has never been transferred to her practical lessons. 



EVIL OF COVETOUSNESS. 



263 



And what does this prove? Only the universality 
of the crime, and its consequent reputation. 
When the mass are involved in the same crime, 
none will be condemned, or held in disrepute. 
What would be thought of any community where 
fornication and murder are as reputable as covetous- 
ness is in the best christian society; yet who is 
alarmed for society when covetousness prevails? 
What is common, is not looked upon as singular; 
and what is popular with the majority, will not be 
likely to be condemned by any — the excess only 
will be noticed at all. 

Second, The intimate connection there is between 
different sins, and between sin and its punishment. 

Gehazi first indulges an improper desire for prop- 
erty; then he profanely binds himself by an oath 
to obtain it, which is carried out by repeated false- 
hood and deception. Such is the support one sin 
gives to another, and the intimate connection be- 
tween them: and then, when sin is finished, it 
bringeth forth death. 

Third, We see, in the case of Gehazi, strong 
reason for right conduct in parents. 

Their acts will not only affect themselves, but 
their posterity. The dispensation has not yet ex- 
pired, when God will visit the iniquity of the fathers 
on the children, to the third and fourth generation 
of them that hate him, and shew mercy to thou- 
sands of generations of them that love him, and 
keep his commandments. There is a double reason 
for watchfulness, when your conduct will affect the 
character and happiness of unborn generations. 

Covetousness appears to be the prevailing sin of 
the American people. One reason probably for 
this is, the means of wealth are more generally 



264 



EVII4 OF COVETOUSNESS. 



within the reach of all classes of society. It is not 
only an ever-goading stimulous to the general mind, 
but also drives legislation over God's moral law; it 
desecrates holy time by public law; it rattles upon 
our highways, and smokes upon our canals, and 
navigable waters, when God says, "Remember the 
Sabbath day ;*' and the best means of making gain 
becomes the governing motive in the selection of 
men for public stations: and for the same reason 
our fellow-men are often held in perpetual bond- 
age. If a curse for the sins of the present genera- 
tion shall fall upon posterity, what may be expected 
for time to come? Shall not God visit such a nation 
as this, of whom it is said, he abhoreth the covetous? 



LECTURE XXIX. 

THE SWIMMING AXE, OR WHAT IS IMPLIED IN GOOD 
EDUCATION. 

"So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they 
cut down wood. But as one was felling a beam,? the axe-head fell 
into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was bor- 
rowed. And the man of God said, Where fell it 1 And he shewed 
him the place And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither ; and 
the iron did swim." — 2 Kings 6 : 4 — 6. 

The business of Elisha not only led him to 
instruct the people generally, and to admonish 
kings, but also to superintend the public schools. 
He was aware how much the public good depended 
on these, and therefore thought them worthy of a 
considerable portion of his attention. Though it 
was an age of inspiration, in the view of such men, 
that did not supercede the necessity of affording the 
best advantages for education. And education is 
undervalued only by those who know little of its 
worth. 

The narrative in this case shews us a fact, which 
is still to be noticed in the general state of society, 
that public schools were but poorly patronized by 
state authority, or the contributions of the rich. 
Especially is this true, so far as those designed for 
the ministry are concerned. The college over 
which Elisha presided does not appear to have had 
any invested funds. When by the increase of 
numbers, they needed an enlargement of their 
buildings, the students themselves had to go to the 
woods of Jordan to prepare the timber for the 



266 



SWIMMING AXE. 



work, which, when executed by their hands, would 
not be likely to be done in any very great style of 
elegance. 

It shews us, also, another fact, which is still to be 
noticed, as common, that most of those who are 
disposed to pursue a course of education with ref- 
erence to the sacred office, are of the poorer classes 
of society. These were not only too poor to pay 
for the work, but also to purchase tools to do it 
with. Even the axe is borrowed, and it was well 
that there was a manifestation of this much of char- 
ity on the part of the owner, as to lend it, a favor 
which would not always be showed to students. 

But, as might be expected of those engaged in 
literary pursuits, the borrower of the mechanic's 
tools does not know very well how r to take care of 
them, or use them. Soon his axe is at the bottom 
of Jordan, and he is left with the handle only in 
his hand. Though poor, he was honest, and this is 
the more apparent from the fact, that he was the 
more concerned for it because it was not his own. 
But, by the help of Elisha, the lost axe is regained. 
The sign employed, is a stick thrown over the 
place, and the iron is made to swim. It is easy for 
him who established the laws of nature to counter- 
act them, when his wisdom directs to such an exer- 
cise of power. 

What I design in further remarks, is to state 
certain principles which should be considered in the 
pursuits of education. 

To Educate, according to its etymology, means to 
draw out. 

This drawing forth, may apply either to the mind 
itself, or to the stores of knowledge which lie in 
nature around us, concealed from a careless and 



SWIMMING AXE. 



267 



inattentive view. The mind, like most other things 
in nature, acquires strength and maturity by culti- 
vation, and a gradual process. Its faculties, left to 
themselves, like the laws of nature in the unculti- 
vated forest, give proof of existence and life; but, 
it is the rude, wild and forbidding life of the wil- 
derness. These are the wild blossoms and fruit, 
under an exuberant overgrowth, which, if trans- 
planted to the husbandman's orchard, or the horti- 
culturist's garden, would attract admiration, and 
resale the taste of the visitor. The mind is not to 
be brought to maturity by a sudden process, or at 
once. Like the other more useful things of nature, 
it approaches perfection by slow advances. The 
more useful things are, the more slowly are they 
generally in coming to maturity. The great oak 
which is to make the walls of an edifice, is ages in 
growing; and the pine which is to adorn the dwell- 
ing places of men, has stood on the mountain side, 
and resisted the storm for generations. The May- 
apple in a few days acquires its full size, but the 
apple-tree, whose fruit is designed for the nourish- 
ment, as well as the pleasure of man, requires years 
to mature it. So, if the mind is to be beautiful, 
and fruitful as the fruit tree, it must not only be 
brought under the influence of cultivation, but be 
cultivated perseveringly. A student just from col- 
lege said, in the presence of Dr. Rush, "I have 
completed my studies." To whom the Dr. replied, 
"You must be a happy young man indeed, to have 
finished your studies so soon. I have been pursu- 
ing mine all my life, and have not yet finished 
them." That the diamond may change the ele- 
ments, which it has in common with the charcoal, 
into its present sparkling riches, a process of ages 



268 



SWIMMING AXE. 



is necssary. Most are endowed with the materials 
of usefulness, and some of greatness; but neither 
the one nor the other will be gained, without a 
patient, and even painful application of the powers 
we have. Without this, the natural fragrance will 
waste itself upon a desert air. If a little learning 
will make a man wise in his own conceit, much 
more will make him think he knows but little. 
This led the poet to say, 

"A little learning is a dangerous thing. 
Drink deep, or taste not the Pyerian spring." 

But, in order that education answer the name, 
and fulfill the whole design, it should be thorough, 
not only in one department of the mind, but in all. 
Man is not only an intellectual, but also a moral 
and religious being It is necessary that his intel- 
lectual powers be strengthened, to make him a being 
of thought and comprehension — that the understand- 
ing be expanded, to contemplate itself, and under- 
stand the nature and relations of things in the 
boundless field of nature around us; but mere 
intellectual strength may exist apart from an 
amiable or useful life. The mind may be strength- 
ened to understand and admire the mechanism of 
nature, and the wonderful adaptation of her phys- 
ical laws, without understanding, or admiring her 
moral laws — may prove the power of numbers, and 
demonstrate the relations of quantity — may soar 
with delight above the flight of ordinary minds, 
and investigate the operations of nature in the 
remote regions of the universe; and may, at the 
same time, dislike to contemplate the still more 
important relations it sustains to its fellow-men, 
and its God — may be pleased with the movements 
of things temporal, while it is displeased with the 



SWIMMING AXE. 269 

movements of things eternal. Hence, the import- 
ance of moral and religious culture. 

However important mere intellectual training is, 
it alone will not qualify man for exerting his influ- 
ence most beneficially upon his fellow-men. And 
the acquisition of intellectual strength merely, under 
the influence of a perverted moral nature, may 
make its possessor more powerfully and decidedly 
pernicious. The heart is the impulsive power for 
good, or for evil: this is the main-spring of man's 
movements as an individual, or as a nation. Even 
intellectual strength yields to the more powerful 
impulses of passion. Intellectual power may be 
carried to its highest advancement, and make its 
possessor only more a fiend. Cultivate intellect 
alone, and genius may shine by it, and attract admi- 
rers, and inspire veneration; but, that very cultiva- 
ted genius may, and probably will, employ its 
advantageous power to undermine and overthrow 
the principles of moral order — the basis on which 
society rests. If Newton, by the enlargement of 
his mental powers, and his comprehension of the 
laws which govern the worlds of matter, by this 
circumstance, could have had his natural power so 
increased, that he could have slightly deranged the 
motion of the heavenly bodies, what unbounded 
confusion would have been the result in the whole 
solar and stellary systems. But here human power, 
however the will may be, is impotent. But it is not 
so in the moral kingdom. Here man has influence, 
and an influence, too, which often tells with fear- 
ful results on the order of society, and the destinies 
X)f man. When the intellect alone is cultivated in 
such men as Hume, Voltaire, or Byron, and left to 
exert itself under the influence of a corrupted heart, 



270 SWIMMING AXE. 

it puts forth its hand, with fearful daring, to stop 
the order of God's moral government; and has been 
too often successful, as it was in the case of France, 
of driving a nation to the verge of ruin, or into the 
whirlpool of destruction. 

The past experience of mankind, attested by ail 
history, proves that no system of education in which 
moral principle is neglected, and the heart unculti- 
vated, will sustain a community in happiness and 
prosperity. Mere science way be lauded to the 
skies; but she will return to the earth, dipt of her 
wings, and proclaim to her votaries her inability, 
unaided by heaven's moral laws, to conduct man 
safely over the billows of passion, and the tempests 
of conflicting selfish interest. 

Let, then, the principles of the Bible never be 
excluded from the youth of this nation; let them 
have the Bible from the earliest dawn of their men- 
tal powers, to their highest and latest advancement; 
let them imbibe its principles by the domestic fire- 
side, in the common school, the high school, and the 
college, until its holy influence shall pervade all 
hearts, and all classes of community. And then, 
and not till then, may we hope to see the full ben- 
efit of education, and a prosperous community. 
Then might we hope to see less occasion for the 
infliction of the penalty of law, and a pleasing 
calm settling upon the agitated ocean of political 
party strife, and an inquiry be made for the order 
of God's moral government in managing the affairs 
of nations. 

But, let the infidel effort, now so impiously made 
to exclude the Bible from the instruction of the 
young, succeed, and atheism will again set up a 
prostitute as the goddess of reason, and Rome pro- 



SWIMMING AXE. 



271 



claim a jubilee at the downfall of American liberty, 
and the nation learn, when it is too late, that the 
Bible is the Book of man, not only for eternity, but 
also for time; not only as an individual, but also as 
a social being; not only in his private, but public 
relations. 

It was not without the best reasons, that Ex- 
President Adams, in his counsel lately given to the 
young men of Baltimore, with reference to the 
books proper for a public library, begins with the 
Bible. 

In the country generally of late, more attention 
than formerly is directed to female education in 
public schools. And it may be asked, whether this 
feature of the times should be regarded as auspi- 
cious? It is a fact that will not be disputed, that 
female character is capable of exerting a mighty 
influence in the formation of human character, and 
in controlling the events of society. This influ- 
ence, always considerable, is most powerful in civ- 
ilized society. Even barbarous nations have had 
their heroines, and princesses, to whom the obse- 
queous multitude have bowed in submission. But 
it is not when woman stands forth in some place of 
prominence, or is raised by the popular voice, or by 
hereditary claim to the throne of power, that her 
influence is most universally, or effectually exerted; 
but in her place of retirement, filling the appropri- 
ate sphere which providence has assigned her, even 
here she exerts an influence over all ranks and con- 
ditions of life. It was in the retirement of the 
bowers of Eden, that she began to make the other 
sex feel the weight of her persuasive influence. It 
was there, too, she exerted her power over the best 
of men, with the most disastrous effect, and the 



272 SWIMMING AXE. 

whole race has felt the weight of her perverted 
influence in that transaction. 

Bat besides the influence she exerts on the minds 
of the mature, to her, in an important sense, is 
committed the moulding of the human character 
at the period when it is most susceptible. Though 
retirement is her natural place, she has often come 
forth to public notice, and graced the pages of com- 
position with the effusions of her literary taste. 
Who can read the song of Miriam, of Deborah, 
and of Hannah, without confessing that sublime, 
and poetic genius is not confined to one sex? 
And who can read the productions of uninspired 
pens, such as Hannah Moore's, tasteful in composi- 
tion, as well as rich in thought, without feeling that 
the female mind, under proper influence, may bless 
the world? But it may be objected, that the extend- 
ing of this advantage in any considerable degree, 
will result in too much self-respect, and a diminu- 
tion of that active industry, which is essential both 
to health and comfort. But why should this result 
be feared from education, more, or even so much, 
as from wealth? Surely there is no necessary con- 
nection between an improved mind and idle hab- 
its. Industry and economy are not inseperably con- 
nected with barbarian ignorance. The study of 
philosophy does not necessarily lead to dress and 
equipage. Because a young lady becomes familiar 
with chemistry, the science of affinities, it does not 
follow that she must be ignorant of those affinities 
which make food healthful, and dishes agreeable, 
or exclude ^herself from the apartment where the 
combining processes are carried on. Because she 
extends her knowledge of the world, it does not 
follow that she must have less knowledge of that 



SWIMMING AXF. 



273 



little world in which her creator has made her a 
queen. Because she improves her knowledge of 
the universe, she is not by this the more disquali- 
fied to arrange her household in order; and, because 
she acquires a knowledge of the science of mind, it 
does not follow that she would be less qualified to 
teach the young idea how to shoot, or to shed com- 
fort and entertainment through the domestic circle. 

We are no advocate for a merly ornamental 
education. Neither man nor woman was made 
for mere ornament, but for usefulness. An educa- 
tion which contributes nothing to this, is of little 
use. We believe in the Spartan maxim, that man- 
kind ought to be educated while young, for that 
which they have to do when they get older. 
Whatever fits them best for this, is the best educa- 
tion. We say then, if education leads to idleness 
and vanity, it is defective some where, and if such 
is the result, it is more the fault of the parent, than 
the school; and the best way, perhaps, to correct 
the evil would be, to make good education more 
general, then the distinction it produces would be 
less apparent. 

Such is an outline of a proper education. The 
training of the intellectual powers, qualifies an 
individual to investigate and comprehend the truth, 
to be associated with men of improved minds, and 
to influence the minds of others for good. The 
education of the moral powers prepares us to un- 
derstand our moral relations, and to do the duties 
of good and honest citizens. The education of the 
physical powers in a becoming and useful industry, 
prepares for a comfortable life; and education reli- 
giously adds an adorning to all, and principle to 
all, and prepares for an honorable citizenship in the 

18 



274 SWIMMING AXE. 

kingdom of heaven, and to be an associate of angels. 
" Happy is the nation whose sons are as plants 
grown up in their youth, whose daughters are as 
corner-stones^ polished after the similitude of a 
palace. Yea* happy is that people whose God is 
the Lord,'' 



LECTURE XXX. 

THE SUN'S RECESSION. 

" And Isaiah said, This sign shall thou have of the Lord, that the 
Lord will do the thing that he hath spoken; shall the shadow go 
forward ten degrees, or go hack ten degrees 1 And Hezekiah an- 
swered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, 
but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. And Isaiah the 
prophet cried unto the Lord ; and he brought the shadow ten 
degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz." 

2 Kings 20: 9—11. 

In the present world man only begins his exist- 
ence. He comes forth like a flower, unfolding his 
hidden qualities, as under a vernal sun, attracts a 
momentary notice, then withers and dies. If reve- 
lation did not come to the aid of observation, we 
might well inquire, Hast thou made mankind in 
vain. "In the midst of life, we are in death." No 
strength of constitution, no engagement of business, 
exempts from the stroke of this destroyer of earth- 
ly pursuits and hopes. The king and the states- 
man, involved in the business of the empire, and 
the most uninfluential of the subjects, are liable 
alike to be interrupted by disease, and to be cut 
short in their course by death. This event comes 
to most persons, perhaps, before they are prepared 
for it, and a little sooner than they expected. Many 
as the crosses and disappointments of life are, they 
are no more than what are necessary to induce us 
to prepare for another state, and make us willing 
to leave the present. In the midst of life, and 
engagements, Hezekiah is notified, not only by 



276 the sun's recession. 

alarming disease, but by the word of the prophet, 
to set his house in order, for he should die, and not 
live. Though a man of piety, and integrity of life, 
this information deeply affects him, and he betakes 
himself to prayer, the common expedient of the 
christian in the time of trouble. It has been ob- 
jected against the character of Hezekiah, and the 
beneficial supports of christian principle, that he 
should have been so much disturbed at the thoughts 
of his dissolution. It has been said, it does not set 
the saint, and the hero, and the advantages which 
accrue from a religious life, in a favorable light. 
The love of life, however, is natural to us, and in 
our very constitution is implanted the fear of death, 
The fear of it is instinctive, not only in man, but in 
the animal creation, and exists, apart from a view 
of the consequences beyond. But there were other 
circumstances which operated on the mind of this 
pious king, at this particular time, which made him 
desirous to live. He was only thirty-nine years 
old, and therefore in the midst of life and influence. 
He had as yet no son to succeed him in the govern- 
ment, and, therefore, the succession of the kings 
was likely to be thrown out of the immediate line 
of David's descendants, and all the hopes of having 
the Messiah born of his race, to become abortive. 
The Assyrians, too, were preparing to invade his 
kingdom, and the reformation of religion which he 
had successfully commenced, he had reason to fear, 
would be reversed, if he ceased to direct its pro- 
gress. So that, besides the natural aversion which 
all men have to death, he had strong reasons to be 
concerned at its approach, and to desire a prolon- 
gation of his life. He saw the storm that was 
gathering, and threatening his country with desola- 



THE SUNS RECESSION. At* 

lion, and that all things were in danger of running 
into anarchy and confusion. That he should melt 
in tears, in the view of such an apprehension, may 
be supposed, without referring it to his natural love 
of life, or unbecoming fear of death. It is not 
strange, that generous and patriotic minds should 
desire to live for the good of their country; that 
those imbued with the spirit of christian philan- 
thropy should desire to live for the good of the 
church; or, that the eflectionate parent should 
desire more days to establish his house, and in- 
struct his children. Paul, though desirous to de- 
part, so far as himself was concerned, and be with 
Christ, which he regarded as far better, for the 
good of others thought it needful, and was rec- 
onciled to remain. 

But, the most threatening symptoms are often 
averted, and after having been made to possess 
days of weariness and months of vanity, after hav- 
ing been brought down to the gates of death, the 
sufferer is often restored to life, and years of health 
and prosperity are added beyond his hope. Such 
events are not without their use ever afterwards in 
the christian's improved experience. One of God's 
distinguished servants said he had learned more by 
one week's affliction, than he had by a life of health 
beside. Dr. Owen said, "That it was another thing 
to come to God through a Mediator, than what 
many, who use the expression, are aware of. I 
myself," says he, "preached some years, when I 
had but very little, if any, experimental acquaint- 
ance with access to God through Christ, until the 
Lord was pleased to visit me with sore affliction, 
by which I was brought to the mouth of the grave, 
and under which my soul was oppressed with hor- 



278 the sun's recession, 

toy and darkness. But God graciously relieved my 
spirit, by a powerful application of psalm 130: 
4 — 'There is forgiveness with thee, that thou may- 
est be feared,' from whence I received special in- 
struction, peace, and comfort, in drawing near to 
God, through the Mediator, and I preached on it 
immediately after my recovery." This he after- 
wards expanded into a volume, which has lately 
been issued by the American Tract Society. This 
will, no doubt, find its way into thousands of fami- 
lies in these States, and may be blessed in directing 
many souls in their approach to God. Such is the 
reach of purpose which God often has, in what may 
seem the smallest incidents of life. Thus, Owen's 
sickness in England, is made a blessing, not only to 
himself, but also in this distant country, ages after 
his death: so intimately are small and great, near 
and remote events connected in the plan of prov- 
idence. 

Hezekiah desired to live, that he might do good, 
go up to the house of the Lord, and show forth his 
praise. Aside from this, there is no other object 
worthy of a strong desire to live. And wholly apart 
from this purpose, no one can honestly ask God to 
spare his life, or restore his health. In the full 
view of a design to devote his prolonged life to the 
exclusive pursuits of selfishness, and sinful gratifi- 
cation, no one can consistently plead with his Ma- 
ker for life. The import of such a prayer would 
be, Spare me, O Lord, that I may break thy laws, 
offend thee, and injure thy cause. Yet, how many 
such prayers have been offered in affliction. Per- 
sons in affliction usually think of accompanying 
their prayer for life with the promise of better 
doing, which shews their practical judgment of the 



THE SUN'S RECESSION, **& 

justice <©f God to be, that they should be cut 
off, if they are disposed to continue in willful sin. 

But, when that which we value much more is 
concerned, we wish to have the best evidence to 
satisfy us. Though a promise is often more than 
we expected, we desire a sign to confirm it. Heze- 
kiah despairs of life, and prays- The Lord hears, 
and sends the prophet to assure him that his prayer 
is heard. He then asks for a sign to confirm his 
word, and the most unlikely one is given. 

Who would think that the sun would alter his 
course to gratify the feelings of an individual? 
How wonderful the condescension of God, thus to 
gratify the feelings, and answer the prayer of a 
man. But doubtless higher ends were to be an- 
swered by it, than individual gratification. It was 
designed immediately to give assurance of two 
things. 1. The prolonging of the kings life for a 
given period, because public utility required it; and 
& That the formidable preparations of the Assyrian 
,king should be disappointed, and the church be pre- 
served against the violence of her enemies. Its 
more remote intention was, to be a -standing memo- 
rial of God's regard for his people, and the interest 
which he takes in the preservation of his church, 
^as well as a perpetual proof of his unlimited con- 
trol over the universe of matter and mind. 

As to the manner in which this appearance of 
the sun's recession took place., two opinions have 
been adopted. 

One, that the whole miracle was wrought upon 
the dial, and was occasioned only, by the reversing 
of the sun's beams, while the sun proceeded in its 
ordinary course — that the shadow was put back on 
the sun dial by a refraction of the sun's rays, without 



280 the sun's recession. 

any interruption of the course of nature. If it 
were otherwise, the effect would have been felt 
over the world, and been recorded in the writings of 
subsequent historians, as well as the sun's standing 
still in the time of Joshua; which is said not to be 
the case. Besides, it is said, so prodigious a mira- 
cle, as to make an alteration in the whole fabric of 
the universe, was unnecessary, when the bare re- 
fraction of the sun's rays upon the dial plate would 
answer the end as well. 

The other opinion is, that the description is to be 
understood literally; and that whatever apparent 
danger there might be of shocking, and unhinging 
the whole frame of nature, by such a sudden re- 
verse motion of the sun, or earth, could be easily 
guarded against by the Creator, in w r hose hand 
the whole mechanism of nature is, as a machine in 
the hand of a human artificer, to make it go faster 
or slower, backward or forward, at his pleasure; 
and that philosophy should conform to revelation, 
rather than revelation to philosophy, especially if 
the expressions of Scripture are in any measure 
clear, as it is supposed to be in this case. No one 
has ever explored but a small part of the secrets of 
nature, and, therefore, the wisest are very incompe- 
tent to decide what are the possible changes which 
may take place; and arguments from our ignorance 
badly apply against recorded matters of experience 
and observation. 

Though there is an appointed time for man upon 
earth, and it is "appointed unto all men once to die," 
Hezekiah is the only one who knew so long before 
hand when that time should come. This universal 
secrecy in reference to this deeply interesting 
event, in which every one is concerned, is doubtless 



the sun's recession. 281 

an arrangement of wis lorn and kindness. The 
definite knowledge of this fact would be accompa- 
nied with a deeply seated, and wide spread melan- 
choly, or with a more reckless profligacy, saying, 
"Let us eat, and drink, for to-morrow we die." Its 
influence, both upon the righteous and the wicked, 
would be less beneficial than the present impene- 
trable secrecy, which conceals this event from our 
view. As it is, we know not the day, nor the hour, 
when the Son of man cometh, and therefore there 
is always need to watch and pray. The event is 
among the most certain of all things, and yet, as 
to the time of its occurrence, the most uncertain. 
Hence, the propriety of the command, "Be ye 
also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not, 
the Son of man cometh." The motive then, of the 
deluded Millerite is as wrong as his calculations, that 
fixing the definite time will induce man more read- 
ily to prepare for it. Like all other schemes, in 
which men pretend to be wiser than revelation, and 
attempt to improve upon God's arrangements, its 
result can be evil only. This is already seen in the 
phrenzy of some, and the infidelity of others. 

But, because God has reserved the times and the 
seasons in his own power, and concealed many 
things from human research, we are not to infer 
that he has no definite purpose respecting them. 
Because fifteen years are said to be added to this 
king's life, it is taken by some as a proof, that God 
governs the affairs of men without any fixed or 
definite purpose. Some things in Scripture are 
spoken with an implied condition. The occurrence 
of this may seem to us to alter the original plan, 
because we see only one part of it at once; while 
with God, the different steps are only the several 



282 the sun's recession. 

parts of the same plan. Hezekiah's disease, no 
doubt, was such as, according to the natural course 
of things, would terminate his life; and it was 
probably according to this view the announcement 
of his death was made to him; but by the inter- 
vention of ordinary, and extraordinary means, 
which were at first parts of the unrevealed plan, 
his life was preserved. Thus, the purpose of God, 
which says, "The wicked shall be turned into hell," 
as not changed when it says, "He that believeth 
shall be saved." Something has occurred, which 
changes the character and circumstances of the indi- 
vidual. God, too, may have an agency in produc- 
ing this change, without subjecting himself to the 
charge of fickleness. The purpose which invested 
the disease with such power as, not counteracted, 
would take away the life of the king of Judah, was 
not inconsistent with another purpose, to accom- 
pany the lump of figs with such efficacy, as to ena- 
ble him to go up to the house of the Lord the third 
day. The means may be a part of the purpose, as 
well as the end. 



REMARKS. 

First, We may learn to trust the power and 
faithfulness of God. If it be necessary for the pro- 
tection of his cause, or the comfort of an individual, 
the most distant part of the universe can be made 
to contribute its aid — the sun will retrace her path, 
and the stars help in their courses. 

Second, That prayer is an important means of 
enlisting this aid in our behalf. 

Third, That it is the part of wisdom to set and 
keep your house in order, since death is at the door, 
aad may at any time enter. This will not induce 



the sun's recession. 283 

him to come any sooner. Hezekiah's prayers did 
not hasten, but deferred his approach. The fig-tree 
was spared, only with the hope, that it might be 
fruitful. 

Fourth, However holy may be the life of the 
christian, when he comes to die, he feels his need 
of additional strength to his faith. 



LECTURE XXXI. 

THE HEROISM OF FAITH — ILLUSTRATED BY THE THREE 
CHILDREN OF THE CAPTIVITY. 

i( He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the 
midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the fourth is like the 
son of God. Then Nebucbadnezzear came near to the mouth of 
the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, 
and Abed-nego, ye servants of the m:>st high God, come forth, and 
come hither. Then Sadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth 
of the midst of the fire."— -Daniel 3: 25, 26. 

We have followed the Jewish nation through a 
period of about nine hundred years of its history, 
and noticed the most important miraculous events 
connected with it. We have seen it emerging 
from its obscurity in the oppression of Egypt, and 
its wonderful migration to the land of promise. 
We have seen the hand of God making a way in 
the sea, and a path in the desert, and heard his 
voice giving them law from Horeb, and settling 
their political constitution. We have, with inter- 
est, followed them across the Jordan, and noticed 
the happy effect of their ecclesiastical organization 
whenever they conformed to its requirements, the 
disastrous results which attended them when they 
departed from it, and God's frequent miraculous in- 
terposition in their behalf, notwithstanding their 
sins. We have heard also the expostulations of 
prophets, and seen miraculous agency by their 
hands, to impress the people still, that God was their 
Ruler, and their Judge. But what was true of man 
at first, was true of them : they abode not in honor. 
They kept the statutes of Omri, and all the works 



HEROISM OF FAITH. 



2S5 



of the house of Ahab, and walked in their counsels, 
and now God has made them a desolation, and their 
inhabitants an hissing, to bear the reproach of his 
people. The lion of the North has come forth from 
his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles has 
been on his way, and the Lord hath covered the 
daughter of Zion with a cloud, and cast down from 
heaven the beauty of Israel; he hath violently 
taken away his tabernacle, destroyed his places of 
assembly, and caused the solemn feasts, and Sabbaths 
to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised in his in- 
dignation, the king and the priest. The daughter of 
Zion is fallen, and her young men sigh in a foreign 
bondage. Such is the feebleness of the best consti- 
tution, and the weakness of the best system of 
national law, when religious principle departs from 
the mass of the people, and integrity from the 
rulers. 

But, while we must follow the chosen people in 
their dispersion among the heathen, it is pleasing to 
see some monuments of piety rising out of the ruins 
of this fallen greatness. While we see the crowns 
of Israel's kings, fallen and defiled in the dust, it is 
pleasing to see her obscure youth rising to distinc- 
tion, and exerting an influence for good, over the 
millions of their conquerors. If we are compelled 
to mourn the departure of miraculous agency from 
the land of Israel, where only, so long it has been 
witnessed, it is pleasing to see it revived in Babylon, 
for the glory of God, and the confusion of idols. 

Daniel and his three associate youth, were taken 
to Babylon in the first captivity of Judah. They 
were children of distinguished families; and what 
is more worthy of notice, to the praise of their 
parents, in a time of general declension, they ap-* 



286 



HEROISM OF FAITH. 



pear to have been taught in their childhood the prin- 
ciples of true religion. This instruction, by the 
grace of God, took a firm hold of their minds, and 
became the regulating principles of their lives. 
Instances of a similar kind are not rare in the his- 
tory of parental faithfulness, and encourage parents 
to sow the seed of Bible knowledge in the morning, 
and in the evening not withhold their hand; know- 
ing who hath said, " their seed shall be known among 
the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people, 
and all that see them shall acknowledge them that 
they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed." 

These young men were exposed to temptations 
and influences, which it might be supposed none, 
in their circumstances, would successfully resist. 
They were away from the restraints of parents and 
friends, and even from the influence of the adminis- 
tration of the religion of their fathers. The tempt- 
ations of sensual indulgence and intemperance, were 
presented and urged upon them. The motive of 
being respectable, by conforming to the habits of 
society around them, existed in all its force. They 
were placed as scholars under the influence of teach- 
ers of very different principles from what they had 
been taught at home; and to gain the good will of 
the king, and their patrons, according to the natural 
course of policy, they would have conformed their 
views and feelings to theirs. But amidst this tide of 
contrary influences, they stood immoveable. The 
king's requirement, his dainty meat, and his wine, 
were alike ineffectual to seduce them from the path 
of rectitude they had marked out for themselves. 
Pulse, and water, and a close application to useful 
learning, are preferred to the luxury and idleness of 
the court. God blessed them in carrying out their 



HEROISM OF FAITH. 287 

good purpose, and they soon show, both in appear- 
ance of bodily health, and mental improvement, 
that they excel their fellows; they attract the no- 
tice of their superiors, and the king himself, by per- 
sonal trial, is satisfied of their superior attainments, 
and resolves to prefer them above the sons of his 
own subjects, and to promote them to the places of 
power and trust. So true is it, even in this life, that 
they who honor God, he will honor; and the way 
to eminence, is the way of virtue. 

But the elevation of office, and influence usually 
become more the occasions of the trial of integrity. 
It makes a man more the object of observation, and 
his acts a kind of common property, which often 
falls into the hands of those who are not careful 
how they use it. Some, too, who value themselves 
upon their superior claims to promotion, and who 
are left behind in the common level of society, envy' 
the successful candidate; and when able to follow 
him in his advancement by nothing else, they will 
do it by ill-will and virtuperation ; and when they 
cannot climb the eminence, they will throw up the 
malignant darts of envy and misrepresentation ; and 
when fault cannot be found with them for wrong 
doing, it will be for right doing; and if the charac- 
ter be impregnable on every other side, it will be 
assailed on the side of the law of his God. 

Such a trial the three children w ere soon to have 
in theirpromotion, of the strength of their christian 
principle. The king of Babylon, for the show of his 
magnificence and vanity, made an enormous golden 
image, and required all his subjects to worship it. 
Several things might present themselves to the 
minds of these young men, as reasons why they 
should comply* There was authority. It was the 



288 



HEROISM OF FAITH. 



command of their sovereign, and good men are to 
be good subjects, to honor the king, and to obey 
magistrates. And it is not every one that discrim- 
inates between the claims of Coesar and the claims 
of God : not every one that knows when he ought 
to subject himself to the charge of disloyalty, rather 
than obey his God. There was obligation. Neb- 
uchadnezzar was not only their sovereign, but their 
benefactor. He had educated them in a generous 
manner, and advanced them to honorable stations ; 
<and no ties are so difficult to break, as those pro- 
duced by kindness. There was universality of com- 
pliance; all besides obey; and who can dare to be 
singular? Why should they stand alone, and effect 
to be better than any one else? Strong as these 
motives were, they resisted them by principle ; and 
in view of the burning furnace, said, "Our God 
whom we serve, is able to deliver us, but if not, be 
it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve 
thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou 
hast set up." Thus principle triumphs over earthly 
interest and human obligation, and they do not 
conform to the world. 

But whose word shall prevail? Shall the king, or 
the subject do his pleasure? Shall it be said, in the 
realms of an Eastern monarch, that where the 
word of a king is, there is not power ? Shall an ex- 
ample be countenanced that may spread disobedi- 
ence through the empire? No. Let the furnace 
be heated seven times hotter than usual. Let the 
strongest of the subjects be the executioners of the 
mandate, to throw these offenders into it. The or- 
der is obeyed ; but the flame withers into death 
those who did it. But a wonder attracts the atten- 
tion of the by-standers: they walk in the midst of 



HEROISM OF FAITH* 289 

the furnace ; and the king's amazement is excited 
by a fourth person in their company, with an ap- 
pearance more than earthly, like unto the Son of 
God. They are called, and come forth from the 
midst of the glowing oven, unhurt by the fiery 
element. The king is impressed with their integ- 
rity ; is convinced of the truth of their religion, and 
the God of Israel is proclaimed as the only true God, 
throughout the empire of Babylon, and they are 
promoted to higher offices. Such is God's regard 
for those that serve him from principle, and venture 
every thing for his honor; such his control over the 
elements of nature, when higher spiritual ends are 
to be answered ; and such his ability to restrain the 
wrath of man, and cause the remainder thereof to 
praise him. Such, too, is the fulfillment of his prom- 
ise to his children, that when they walk through the 
fire, it shall not kindle upon them, and through the 
waters, they shall not overflow them. 

But, for some reason, Daniel is not subjected to 
this trial, and is not allowed to share the honor of 
glorifying God in the furnace, with his companions. 
He is permitted to live in peace, and be advanced 
to the chief place of power, and to be distinguished 
by superior wisdom, and piety, and influence, even 
to old age. But envy did not permit him to go 
down to the grave in peace. His devotion is noticed 
by his enemies, and a snare is laid for him : a scheme 
is devised to prevent him from prayer, or cause him 
to forfeit his life. He understands the import of 
the decree, and the certainty of the penalty. He 
knows the power of lions, and their thirst for blood; 
but his intercourse with God is not to be interrupted 
by such fears. He prays, as before, three times a 
day, with his window open towards Jerusalem, the 

19 



290 HEROISM OF FAITH. 

city of his fathers' solemnities, and the temple, the 
visible residence of the Shekinah. For this he is 
accused, and sentence, according to the unchange- 
able laws of the Medes and Persians, is executed, 
and he is cast into the den of lions. Here he spends 
the night unprotected, except by his God, whom he 
served; but this is sufficient. An angel is sent to be 
his companion in this lonely and dangerous abode, 
The lions' ferocity is tamed into the gentleness of 
the lamb, and he spends the solitary hours in prayer, 
and praise, and peace, and joy, while the lions felt 
the invisible restrainer; who said, "Touch not mine 
anointed, and do my prophets no harm." He comes 
forth at the king's request, the following morning, 
as after a night of sweet repose. The king then 
said, "I make a decree, That in every dominion 
of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the 
God of Daniel; for he is the living God, and stead- 
fast forever, and his kingdom that which shall not 
be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto 
the end." Thus, by faith, they quenched the vio- 
lence of fire, and stopped the mouths of lions; and 
thus miracles once more, and but once, become the 
demonstration of a God, and the heavenly origin 
of religion, till Jesus Christ himself should come, 
and by miracles wrought by his own power in 
proof of his Messiahship, give full evidence that he 
was the Savior of the world. 

Egypt, Arabia, Canaan, and now Babylonia, 
have, in succession, been made the theatre of the 
displays of a God in miraculous working, and now 
these manifestations are no more to be disclosed, 
till the Redeemer is manifested in the flesh, and 
Judea again be made the place of these wonderful 
works, and the children of Abraham again be the 



HEROISM OF FAITH. 291 

witnesses of the proof of the mission of Christ, as 
they were of the mission of Moses. And till we 
look at the Savior himself, we cannot look at 
brighter examples than Daniel, and his companions. 
And in taking our leave of the demonstrations of a 
God, of his providence, and his word, in Old Testa- 
ment revelation, we cannot do better than imitate 
the virtues of these children of the captivity, till we 
are conducted to fuller light at the end of these 
wonders. 

Ye children, then, imitate them in adhering to 
wholesome instruction, which you have received. 
Hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not 
the law of thy mother: for they shall be an orna- 
ment of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy 
neck. If sinners entice thee, consent thou not. 

Ye young men, imitate them in your firmness of 
christian principle. If you be unstable as water, 
you can never excel. If you take your rule of 
action from the popular maxims of the world, you 
will fail of eminence here, and lose heaven hereafter. 
Let Saul's inquiry ever be yours — "Lord what wilt 
thou have me to do;" and when you have learned 
his will, do it in the face of danger, and of death; 
and if your course of duty lead you into a fiery 
furnace, or into a lion's den, the heavenly angel 
will be with you. 

And ye old men, follow the example of Daniel 
the aged, and pray for Zion, and for the world, 
with your faces toward the heavenly Jerusalem, 
till God sends his angel to take you to himself. 



LECTURE XXXII. 

THE ONLY PROPER IMPROVEMENT OF MIRACULOUS 

EVIDENCE, TO COME TO CHRIST AND LEARN 

OF HIM. 

" Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will 
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am 
meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." 

Mat. 11:28,29, 

Come unto Me, learn of Me, and ye shall find 
rest unto your souls. 

The Savior had just been rebuking those cities in 
which most of his distinguished miracles had been 
done, and denounced heavy judgments upon them. 
To excite them to a better improvement of their 
privileges, he assures them that if the mighty mir- 
acles which had been done in them, had been done 
in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long 
since, in sackcloth and ashes. And to operate 
upon their fears, he tells them, that the punish- 
ment of those heathen cities will be less severe 
in the judgment than theirs — that Sodom itself 
would have remained unto that time, if as many 
miracles had been wrought in it, as they had wit- 
nessed; and therefore the punishment of Sodom 
would be less than theirs. Who can think of the 
punishment of Sodom without dread? and who, in his 
conception of their characters, does not place them 
among the most abandoned of mankind? In these 
statements we are taught the very natural princi- 
ple that under the government of God we will be 
treated according to the moral or spiritual light we 
have — that the wicked will suffer in proportion to 



IMPROVEMENT OF MIRACULOUS EVIDENCE. 293 

their privileges. But the Savior was in these cities 
only a few days. Only a few of all the miracles 
which were wrought, were performed before them. 
Only a part of those wrought by the Savior himself 
were done there. How much increased, then, the 
privilege of such as are permitted to contemplate 
them all, both of the Old and New Dispensation: 
those of God before Moses, those of Moses, and 
those who succeeded him, through a long period of 
prophetic history; those of Christ in every place, 
and every variety of circumstance. Neglecting 
the practical improvement of the sure word of this 
testimony, may we not ask, without the hope of an 
answer, "How shall we escape if we neglect so 
great salvation; which at the first began to be 
spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by 
them that heard him; God also bearing them wit- 
ness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers 
miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to 
his own will?" 

If those who saw a few of the Savior's miracles, 
and heard a part of his instructions, were threatened 
and suffered thus, what must be the doom of those 
who go down to hell from this day of increased 
light — of those who are educated in the ways of 
religion, who are instructed from Sabbath to Sab- 
bath in various ways, who grow up amid the means 
of grace, and at last are lost for want of improving 
them. What will be the doom of any of us, who 
for a period half the length of the whole of Christ's 
public ministry have had our attention directed to 
the consideration of these same works, which dis- 
tinguished Chorazin and Bethsaida, which exalted 
Capernaum to heaven, and which, by not being 
properly regarded, became the occasion of their 



294 IMPROVEMENT OF MIRACULOUS EVIDENCE. 

deeper condemnation. As we hasten through these 
sublime displays of omnipotence, as we from week 
to week trace the footsteps of a God on earth, and 
mark the resistless energy of his hand, moulding 
the elements of nature at his will, and controlling 
her most permanently established laws at his pleas- 
ure, shewing to the universe that matter and mind, 
in fctheir longest established laws, and in their firm- 
est attitudes of resistance, change their modes of 
action at the bidding of him who made them, when 
a higher object demands it. As we view these 
multiplied evidences of God's care to give us 
undoubted evidence of his own existence and con- 
stantly superintending providence — while we con- 
template this surplus of evidence to establish beyond 
all contradiction, the fact so necessary for us to 
know, that God has revealed his will to man — that 
Jesus Christ is the true, infallible, and only Savior 
of a spiritually ruined world — let us, as it were, 
stop to-day and inquire, what is the improving, and 
sanctifying effect of all these interviews we have 
had with the mysterious movements of the divin- 
ity among the beings of his workmanship — what 
the elevating, and sanctifying effect which all these 
interviews with a God coming down from the lofty 
dwelling place of spirits into a world of matter has 
had upon our minds. The effect of one miraculous 
interview which Moses had with God, was so to 
assimilate his countenance to the heavenly likeness, 
that the people could not steadfastly behold its 
superlative glory. The effect of another interview 
upon two favored disciples, was to induce them to 
say, in the utterance of inexpressible delight, "It is 
good to be here." The miraculous multiplication 
of bodily food, led others to follow him beyond the 



IMPROVEMENT OF MIRACULOUS EVIDENCE. 



295 



sea, and to say, "Ever more give us this bread." 
The presence of God in miracles made even the 
demoniacs to be afraid, and say, "Art thou come to 
torment us before the time?" * What then has been 
the effect of all these displays of God, in miracles, 
upon us? Has it been of fear or love, of confi- 
dence or hope, of repentance or submission? What 
more of faith in the Redeemer, who is the manifes- 
tation of the godhead in miraculous energy, as well 
as the great moving and attractive central object 
toward which all the movements in the materialism 
of nature, as well as the regular operation of the 
laws in the kingdom of grace, are designed to con- 
duct us? If through the apprehension that this 
magnificent object in the mediatorial kingdom, this 
upholding pillar of the spiritual edifice has not been 
sufficiently magnified in our view, while we have 
been contemplating him in his majestic movements 
through the laws of nature, and overturning them 
at pleasure; or, if w r e have not seen him distinctly, 
while we have been looking at him through the 
vail of Moses; or^ if from that remote point of 
vision we have not been able, as we desire, with 
Abraham to behold his day and rejoice, let us to- 
day draw near, within hearing of his own voice; 
and this we can do without dread of that majesty 
which controls the elements: for he bids us, saying, 
"Come unto me." If we are afraid, that like Ca- 
pernaum, after witnessing so many of his miracles, 
we have not yet truly learned his character, 
and that Capernaum's doom may be ours, let us, to 
avoid this, now obey his command, and learn of 
him, by the teachings of his lips, what we have 
failed to do by the exhibitions of his power. If we 
have not yet found that rest for our souls which we 



296 IMPROVEMENT QF MIRACTCOUS EVIDENCE. 

have been too feebly seeking through the proofs of 
his divinity and the evidences of his Messiahship, 
while we have seen the proofs of his divers mira- 
cles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, let us now com- 
ply with his invitation to come to himself, and his 
command to learn of him, and the promise iu all its 
extent will be realized: " Ye shall find rest to your 
souls." As this stands so near the statement of Gho^ 
razin's misimprovement of his mighty works, and 
Capernaum's doom, it seems to be the Savior's own 
counsel, to remove the one, or to avoid the other. 
Here is an invitation, a command, and a promise. 
The first is necessary to the second, and the second 
to the third, and all are necessary to the full pos- 
session of the Savior's mediation, But miracles 
are necessary to enable us properly to comply with 
the first, and yield an intelligent and hearty consent 
to the invitation, to come to him for the purposes 
in view. Why should we come to one to be taught^ 
of whose ability we have not evidence sufficient to 
give us confidence? and why should we come to 
one for rest, of whose power to afford it any doubt 
remained? and how can we have the evidence of 
the one or the other, without mighty works to 
prove it. It was not without good reason then, that 
the unbelieving Jews asked, "What sign shew- 
est thou then, that we may see and believe thee? 
what dost thou work?" To come to him, means to 
believe in him, to trust him for all the purposes of 
salvation. To do this on his terms, without condi- 
tions being specified by us, For doing this, we 
must have ample evidence of his divinity: for how 
could a created being, however exalted, sustain the 
weighty interests of our souls through eternity. 
But how can we know he is divine, unless he does 



IMPROVEMENT OF MIRACULOUS EVIDENCE. 



297 



the works of God? In reference to this he says, 
"If I had not done among them the works which 
none other man did, they had not had sin: but now 
they have no cloak for their sin." The meaning of 
this appears to be, that if he had not proved himself 
to be divine by his works, it would be no sin to dis- 
believe in him; but since he has given this proof, 
unbelief has no excuse. Thus, faith rests upon evi* 
dence. Evidence not as to the manner how things 
are; but of the facts that they are. It does not 
withhold belief till it knows how the divine and 
human nature are united in the person of Christ; 
but it believes when it sees in his wonderful person 
the certain evidences of both. It is satisfied of the 
one, by the evident movement of humanity in his 
life; of the other, by the manifest puttings forth of 
divinity. It sees in him the weakness of man, and 
the power of God. By the one, he is encouraged 
to approach him; by the other, he is sure of obtain- 
ing all that he needs. Thus, the individual pressed 
with a sense of want and helplessness, and satisfied 
of the Savior's character, complies with the invita- 
tion, and comes to him, and thus he is prepared to 
obey the command, "Learn of me." To be effec- 
tually taught, we must have the best means of 
instruction, Jesus Christ is the best qualified for 
this office. He is recommended to the world by 
Moses, when he said, "A prophet shall the Lord 
your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like 
unto me; him shall ye hear in all things." This 
is he that was in the church in the wilderness, with 
the angel which spake to him in mount Sinai, and 
with our fathers who received the lively oracles to 
give unto us, — Upon whom was to rest, in the high- 
est sense, the Spirit of Jehovah, the spirit of wis- 



298 



IMPROVEMENT OF MIRACULOUS EVIDENCE. 



dom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and 
might, and of the fear of the Lord. By him was 
to be fulfilled the prediction, "They shall be all 
taught of the Lord. Every man therefore that 
hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, Com- 
eth unto me." He is the wisdom of God itself, 
which Jehovah possessed in the beginning of his ways 
before his works of old. With these high, quali 
fications, he invites the world to his feet, to receive 
instruction: the rich and the poor, the learned and 
the unlearned. He leads the blind in a way that 
they know not. His teaching is characterized. 

First, As being theoretical 

For this, he proclaims his qualifications in the 
verse preceding the invitation to come to him. 
*'A11 things are delivered unto me of my Father: 
and no man knoweth the Son but the Father; nei- 
ther knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, 
and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. ,, 
When he speaks of the character of God, and 
heavenly things, he says, " We speak that we do 
know, and testify that we have seen." His fknow- 
ledge is original and underived. And the myste- 
ries which were hid from ages, and generations, 
are. made known to us through the Gospel. He 
only teaches truly what God is; what man is; 
what God's law is; what satisfaction it requires, 
that its penalty may be averted from the guilty; 
what satisfaction has been rendered; and, in what 
way we must be interested in it, in order to be 
saved. He teaches the whole theory of salvation 
with authority, with clearness, with simplicity, and 
with the most familiar illustrations. He teaches by 
his life, by his death, by his resurrection, and by 
his spirit 



IMPROVEMENT OF MIRACULOUS EVIDENCE. 299 

Second, His teaching is experimental. 

By enlightening the understanding, by quickening 
the conscience, and renovating the affections. In 
this way he fulfills the promise, "A new heart will 
I give you, and I will take away the stony heart 
out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of 
flesh." In this way the invitation is complied 
with, "O taste and see that the Lord is Good." In 
this way the disciples, whom he effectually teaches, 
become not enlightened statues, but living stones, 
with sensitive heart, and animated life; and thus, 

Third, He teaches practically. 

His lessons on this particular are, ."If ye know 
these things, happy are ye if ye do them." Whoso- 
ever doeth the will of God, "the same is my broth- 
er, and sister, and mother." He that heareth, and 
doeth not, is like a foolish man who built his house 
upon the sand. The doctrine is taught, the expe- 
rience is given, that they may walk in his statutes, 
keep his ordinances, and do them. His teaching 
makes a world of light, of feeling, and of action; 
and the first two are in order to the last. "Herein 
is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so 
shall ye be my disciples." 

The promise is to him that thus fcometh, and 
learneth of Christ, that he shall find rest to his soul. 

This promise is intended to embrace every thing 
included in the present spiritual peace, and the 
future glorification of the sanctified. This promise 
is unspeakably comprehensive. It is like is author, 
boundless. It is a rest for the soul; and the soul 
needs much to compose it. The soul is for immor- 
tality; the promise must be as extensive. The cer- 
tainty of its fulfillment rests upon two things: the 
ability of the promiser, and his faithfulness. To 



300 



IMPROVEMENT OF MIRACULOUS EVIDENCE. 



encourage us, with regard to his resources, he said, 
just before, "All things are delivered unto me of 
my Father." For the purpose of the administra- 
tion of the mediatorial kingdom, all nature, and 
grace are put under contribution to him. We have 
his promise for the fulfillment, and his word for the 
ability to do it. But, among men, we wish for 
more than both these to settle our confidence; espe- 
cially where much is depending. And we have 
more than both these, in the mighty works which 
were performed to prove the word to be true. 
That all things are put into his hand for future dis- 
posal, is proven by the fact, that all things are sub- 
servient to his will now; and that nature changes 
her established laws when he bids her. Do we ask 
the evidence of his ability to fulfill a promise so 
large? He gives it; and nature, in one and another 
of her departments, stops, or changes, to let us see 
that the Mediator is her Lord. The proof of abil- 
ity then, is complete. But, it is not every one who 
is able, that is willing to fulfill his promises. And 
here again the mighty works come to the aid of our 
faith. The fact, that there is a deviation at all, by 
miraculous power, in nature's uniform laws, proves 
that her constancy is the result of the divine will. 
If the constancy was not the effect of will, the 
departure from it might be a chance, as well as the 
constancy. This constancy, too, may be properly 
regarded as the fulfillment of promise, impressed 
upon us as an instinctive law of our nature, by 
which we necessarily expect similar results, from 
like causes. We see the sun rise once, we expect 
it again; we see spring, with its cheerfulness return 
once, we expect it again, without any doubt. So of 
every thing else. The reason is, God constructed 



IMPROVEMENT OF MIRACULOUS EVIDENCE. 301 

our minds, so as to rely upon his own faithfulness 
in nature. This confidence he never disappoints. 
The more science learns of the laws of nature, the 
more confidently she decides that nature never vio- 
lates her own laws: upon this rests all the certainty 
of science. The only exceptions have been, when 
the works of God have yielded, for the establishing 
of his word. This faithfulness of God in his works, 
proves his faithfulness in his word. The God of 
nature and the God of grace, is the same; and the 
present administration of the Mediator is over both. 
Is there such an inseparable connection between the 
promise and its fulfillment in nature, that the whole 
world relies on it, and will hardly believe that this 
connection has been broken by miracle? Why not 
believe this connection equally certain in grace? 
If you confidently believe God working, why not 
as confidently believe God speaking? If you be- 
lieve him speaking in the instinct of your nature, 
that the flowers will return upon the earth; w^hy 
not as certainly believe him when he says, "Ye 
shall find rest unto your souls.'* The law fixing 
the connnection between learning of Christ, and 
salvation, is as firmly established as any other law. 



CONTENTS. 

Page, 

LECTURE I. 
Creation, the proof of a God. 5 

LECTURE II. 
The Deluge, a proof of God's providence, - 12 

LECTURE III. 
The Destruction of Sodom. 20 

LECTURE IV. 
The Miracles of Egypt, 27 

LECTURE V. 
The Passage of the Red Sea. ------ 36 

LECTURE VL 
The Waters of Marah. - ' . 45 

LECTURE VII. 
The Manna. 54 

LECTURE VIII. 
The Rock at Rephidim. ---»... 62 

LECTURE IX. 
Mt. Sinai, when the law was given. ----- 71 

LECTURE X. 
Moses without food forty days. 80 

LECTURE XL 
The cloudy pillar over the finished tabernacle. ... 89 

LECTURE XII. 
The destruction of Korah, and the settlement of the mutiny 

about the civil power. ------- 97 

LECTURE XIII. 
Aaron's rod with blossoms and fruit ; or the settlement of 

the sacred office. ------._ JC6 

LECTURE XIV. 
Healing by the brazen serpent. U5 

LECTURE XV. 
Balaam rebuked. X25 

LECTURE XVI. 
The passage of Jordan. X35 



contents. 

Page. 
LECTURE XVII. 
The destruction of Jericho. ------ 145 

LECTURE XVIII. 
The arrest of the sun. 155 

LECTURE XIX. 
The overthrow of the Midianites. - 165 

LECTURE XX. 
The character and miracles of Sampson. - 176 

LECTURE XXI. 
Rain withheld.— Elijah and the widow provided for. * 186 

LECTURE XXII. 
Baal's worshipers confounded.— Indecision rebuked. - 196 

LECTURE XXIIL 
Horeb again the scene of wonders. — Elijah's despondency. 206 

LECTURE XXIV. 
The translation of Elijah, or the mutability of human things. 216 

LECTURE XXV. 
The defective springs healed. ------ 226 

LECTURE XXVI. 
The wife of the deceased pastor helped. — The son of the 

rich woman of Shunara restored. - 236 

LECTURE XXVII. 
Naaman cured. - - - - - ' - - * 245 

LECTURE XXVIII. 
The punishment of Gehazi ; or he evil of covetousness. 255 

LECTURE XXIX. 
The swimming sea, or what is implied in good education. 265 

LECTURE XXX. 
The sun's recession. ------- 275 

LECTURE XXXI. 
The heroism of faith — Illustrated by the three children of the 

captivity. --------- 284 

LECTURE XXXII. 
The only proper improvement of miraculous evidence, to 

come to Christ and learn of him. - 292 



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